Crime Stoppers says it hopes to crack down on violence and crime on Winnipeg buses with a new campaign encouraging riders to report bad behaviour.
A total of 50 bus benches across the city are now promoting the ‘It’s Your BUSiness’ campaign, and Crime Stoppers’ Robert MacKenzie says it’s about everyone doing their part to keep buses safe for riders and operators.
“(We want to) promote the Crime Stoppers program and make people aware that they have the opportunity to report crimes that are happening in our transit system anonymously via the Crime Stoppers program,” MacKenzie said Tuesday.
“The other thing we’re trying to do is we’re trying to foster responsibility within the community.”
With around 171,000 Winnipeggers using transit each day, MacKenzie said if even some of those people share information, it’ll make a difference.
“That’s a lot of eyes and ears on the transit system, so what we’re asking is very simple: if you see something, say something.”
The announcement comes on the eve of Winnipeg Crime Stoppers’ 40th anniversary, a milestone the organization will be celebrating next month. MacKenzie said the number of tips Crime Stoppers receives continues to grow each year, especially with the benefits of social media, smartphones and other technological advances.
As of last week, Crime Stoppers had received 4,059 tips in 2024 — beating last year’s high of just over 4,000, with two months to go.