A statement from Winnipeg police about how they managed a pursuit and subsequent hostage taking in St. James is the main topic of Episode 24 and our Crime, Courts, and Public Safety update.
Part 1- You’ll hear a brief rebuttal to a critic of our last episode – Nahanni Fontaine Disrespectfully Shows The Bottom Of Her Shoes To MLAs
and updates to our latest columns in the Winnipeg Sun:
Mark Carney is no friend of Canadian Jews
Whistleblower shut out at City Hall
Political spin can’t hide the bad news in WPS annual crime report
13. 50 Part 2- On May 29, police tried to apprehend Matthew Gibson, a serial criminal in a stolen vehicle who first rammed a cop car and then busted into a St. James house. He held a father and two teens hostage as he exchanged gunshots with the police and set the house on fire. The perp was felled after the hostages were freed.
On Saturday, the WPS posted a link on X to a lengthy statement describing the incident and their four hour operation to take Gibson down.
“Our latest story looks at the ripple effects major emergencies can have on service delivery across Winnipeg”
https://www.winnipeg.ca/police/community/news-releases/2026-06-06-what-happens-after-cameras-leave
“By 2 p.m. that afternoon, the number of urgent calls waiting for response was nearly 80 per cent higher than the average Friday in May… By Sunday afternoon, 337 calls were waiting for dispatch. That is 38 per cent higher than the same weekend last year and 57 per cent higher than the three-year average.”
Those details raised eyebrows and called into question the decision for a “calling all cars” attendance of 38 patrol units, many of them from neighborhoods where citizens were urgently calling for help. Is the issue actually about the ripple effects of poor personnel management?
Listen for the prediction of what could result in a future situation given the bodycam pilot project just announced.
31.40 Part 3– Residents of River Heights are experiencing the effects of “the new normal” in Winnipeg, where politicians and police have decided that there’s an acceptable number of garage break-ins and bike thefts.
We say that because if it wasn’t acceptable, they’d have done something by now, especially after the area recorded the biggest increase in crime – almost 15% – according to annual WPS statistics.
We recount the comments of residents who have been repeatedly victimized for years – and it’s getting worse- while police brass have failed to develop a comprehensive plan to restore safety to their homes.
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