Downtown no place to be after dark, huge majority of Winnipeggers say in survey

Most Winnipeggers are afraid to walk alone downtown and believe the city needs more police officers, a new survey finds.

Winnipeg Police Service released its 2026 citizen survey Friday.

Downtown safety appears to remain a major concern, with just 44 per cent saying they feel very or reasonably safe walking alone in the area during the day. The number plummets to eight per cent overall at night, down from nine per cent in 2024, the last time the survey was conducted.

This year, 14 per cent of men felt very or reasonably safe walking alone downtown at night, compared to just three per cent of women.

WPS Chief Gene Bowers said the survey shows there’s more work to do to build confidence in the area.

“Overall crime downtown (year-to-date is) down 10 per cent, violent crime is down 19 per cent downtown,” Bowers said. “Those are significant numbers…. Hopefully, the perception will change and people will feel safer.”

Police foot patrols are frequent in the city centre, and the Downtown Community Safety Partnership and Downtown Winnipeg BIZ also provide a visible security presence, all of which must continue, he said.

“By no means, is (this) a victory per se, but… I think I feel we’re moving in the right direction, and I think our members are working hard,” he said.

Despite the data, most Winnipeggers (58 per cent) believe crime has increased over the past year, but the number shows an improvement from 72 per cent who felt that way in 2024.

“I think (people are) seeing more of us,” Bowers said. “I think that we’re being more responsive to calls for service, so I think a lot of that is hitting home for people.”

Meanwhile, 93 per cent of those surveyed said a quick response to calls for service is a very or extremely important aspect of policing, though just 44 per cent rated WPS as excellent or good in that regard (up from 39 per cent in 2024).

Bowers said police are making strides in reducing that wait; detectives and members of other specialized units are helping answer calls, rather than leaving that task to general patrol officers to handle alone.

“There’s a lot of work being done as far as attending to that queue. It just shouldn’t be on the (general patrol) members. It’s a service-wide initiative and I think we’re seeing some change there,” he said.

Fifty-seven per cent of those surveyed said Winnipeg has too few police officers, while 28 per cent thought the number was about right, four per cent said there are too many and 11 per cent had no opinion.

Bowers said his past request for the city to fund more officers stands, as the WPS officer-to-population ratio is “quite low” compared to other cities.

“We would like another two cruiser cars, which is 36 members…. I’d like to see that number, of course, move up, because the city has grown,” he said.

Drug use was deemed an extremely or very serious neighbourhood problem by 30 per cent of those surveyed, while 32 per cent expressed the same level of concern about vandalism, graffiti or other deliberate damage to property or vehicles.

Overall, the perception of police improved slightly over the 2024 poll. This year, 56 per cent of respondents rated the service as excellent or good, up from 54 per cent two years earlier.

A total of 600 Winnipeg adults took part in the survey, which was conducted by Prairie Research Associates. They were interviewed by phone between July 23 and Aug. 14, via both landlines and cellphone numbers. The survey used quotas to ensure a representative sample by age, gender and region.

The margin for error is plus or minus four per cent, 19 times out of 20.

— With files from Erik Pindera

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

X: @joyanne_pursaga

Police citizen survey