Winnipeg Copwatch

The 58 new Winnipeg police officers promised by Mayor Sam Katz as part of his re-election campaign will cost $4.2 million per year. This comes at the same time the city won’t guarantee they’ll continue gang diversion social programs being cut by the federal Conservatives (CBC, Free Press). From the CBC piece: Liz Wolff of [...]

Two weeks ago marked the twentieth anniversary of the death of Neil Stonechild (pictured), who died of hypothermia after being picked up by members of the Saskatoon Police Service and left in a field on the outskirts of the city when the temperature was -28C. His death and similar incidents culminated in a formal inquiry [...]

A Copwatcher in San Francisco was assaulted by a plain clothes police officer on November 18, 2010.  The incident was videotaped:

Despite somewhat differing views on the root causes of crime, mayoral candidates Sam Katz and Judy Wasylycia-Leis have both promised to hire more police officers if elected, and have made safety and crime reduction central to their campaigns. Manitoba has one of the highest crime rates in the country, with crime disproportionately affecting Winnipeg’s working [...]

Researchers from the University of Manitoba and the Southern Chiefs Organization have completed a study calling for aboriginal people in Winnipeg to share stories about their interactions with the police. Among dozens of other stories, they heard of a woman being driven to the outskirts town and left there as recently as December of 2008.

On Monday, October 18th, from noon to 1pm there will be a free speaking event, Racialized Policing in Winnipeg, at the Urban Circle Training Centre, 519 Selkirk. Nahanni Fontaine is the Justice Director of the Southern Chiefs’ organization which represents 36 First Nations in Manitoba. Elizabeth Comack is a Professor and Head of the Department [...]

Earlier this year, a disturbing trend was emerging in the US states of Illinois, Maryland, and Massachusetts: people were being charged simply for filming the police. In June, Gizmodo’s Wendy McElroy did an excellent writeup called Are Cameras the New Guns? in which she pointed to the case of Anthony Graber, a motorcyclist whose helmet-cam [...]

Radley Balko published an article today that discusses cameras to use when copwatching. It looks mostly at tools to keep your footage safe from police who might want to confiscate or delete it, which has been a big problem in Winnipeg, among other cities. One of the things mentioned is new software for iPhone or [...]

Winnipeg Copwatch is hosting a free workshop on how to safely and effectively witness police interactions. It will include sections on camera and recording skills, de-escalation techniques, knowing your rights, and more. Whether you’re interested in witnessing on your own to prevent police misconduct, starting a copwatching group with friends, participating in Winnipeg Copwatch patrols, [...]

Winnipeg Copwatch has recently been getting inquiries from people across the country looking to take action against police brutality, including Vancouver and Whitehorse. A group in Montreal interested in cop-watching has invited us to participate in a workshop at the end of the month including Lorenzo Kom’boa Irvin, one of the co-founders of the first [...]