Smart policing initiatives lead to three arrests in Winnipeg

Winnipeg Police are crediting smart policing initiatives for helping arrest three people for drug offences Monday night and early Tuesday morning.

This involves using data to identify crime trends and patrols in high risk areas to be proactive.

READ MORE: Winnipeg police arrest 2 suspects following multiple recent robberies

Const. Jay Murray explained how they use trends to help tackle crime.

“Let’s say the West End has a rash of car break-ins, they can focus on that [and] start paying closer attention to cars in the area,” Murray said.

“If gas stations are getting hit off Henderson, then they can head to that area and keep an eye on it.”

One such patrol resulted in a man being arrested for drug and weapons offences on Monday around 11 p.m. in the Exchange District.

Another patrol nabbed a suspect for weapons and drug charges just past midnight on Tuesday in the Spence neighbourhood.

There was a third arrest around 12:45 a.m. when officers pulled over a man on his bicycle in Elmwood. After a short foot chase, cops arrested a 32-year-old man from Scarborough, Ontario.

Police said he was carrying more than $2,000 worth of cocaine and heroin.

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Murray said these arrests show that the initiatives are working.

“These arrests happened while officers were focused on those areas,” said Murray.

“It’s not like it was a project they were specifically doing. Just by chance, we were successful with three arrests in a short period of time.”

The force began using smart policing practices in 2012.