Women in Winnipeg say they feel more scared than ever walking alone downtown, according to the Winnipeg Police Service’ latest general survey.
The survey, which has been done every two years for the past 20 years, asked people how safe they felt walking alone downtown during the day.
Fifty per cent of women responded they felt unsafe, the highest level since the question has been asked since 2015.
The number increased to 91 per cent for women when asked if they felt unsafe walking around downtown after dark.
Meanwhile, the number of men who feel unsafe walking around downtown decreased to just above 20 per cent.
Other findings in the general survey showed that as a whole, Winnipeggers’ perception is that crime has risen dramatically in the city and their neighbourhoods.
About 73 per cent of residents feel that crime has increased in the past year, which is called a “dramatic reversal” from the previous survey in 2017, and the highest percentage since 2007. Older women especially said they felt crime had increased.
The crimes bothering citizens the most? Theft from cars, people using drugs and vandalism topped the list.
About 14 per cent of people who responded to the survey said they had been a victim of crime in the past year.
As for the police service in general, the “overall quality” score went down.
“Overall, in the 2019 survey, 66.3 per cent rated the police excellent or good for trustworthiness compared with 82 per cent in 2017 (81 per cent in 2015) who rated the police absolutely or usually trustworthy,” reads the report.
The report says 620 people were randomly selected and interviewed by telephone, 52 per cent of them women and with a margin of error of four per cent.
Read the report yourself below: