Winnipeg police chief Danny Smyth still loses sleep over city’s meth problem

Winnipeg Police Chief Danny Smyth says the issue of meth is in all corners of the city.

On Wednesday he spoke to a crowd of about 75 people at the Gonzaga Middle School in North Point Douglas about the struggle with meth in Winnipeg.

“You’d see evidence of meth pretty much in every corner of the city now,” he said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "You'd see evidence of meth pretty much in every corner of the city now," he said.

“We are certainly seeing evidence of crime. We’re seeing a spike in violent crime. We’re seeing a spike in property crime and we’re seeing some association to the meth trade as a result of that.”

Smyth said it’s an issue he continues to lose sleep over.

“It’s all around us if people are paying attention,” he said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It's all around us if people are paying attention," he said.

He encourages people who see evidence of criminal activity to report it to police.

“Certainly there is a way to communicate that to the police, really without being overly involved. On the other side of the coin, there’s a lot of people struggling with addiction here and it’s knowing how to steer people into resources that might be able to help them,” he said.

Smyth also thinks there should be more of an emphasis placed on education.

“We need more treatment and I would love to see it get into the school curriculum in an age appropriate way so that we can teach our youth before they get exposed to things like meth.” he said.

Lori Champman was at the information session. She says her daughter Erin battles with a meth addiction and is getting care now after two years.

“It consumed her pretty quick,” she said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It consumed her pretty quick," she said.

“Meth is a devil and we have to know our enemy and we know our enemy and as a whole city we have to come together on this.”

Champman hopes more resources can be put forward to help people struggling with addiction.

“We need more police, more health care, more everything to deal with this issue because it affects all of us.”