‘It’s disturbing’: Winnipeg outreach workers concerned about youth crime rates

Murder charges, stabbings and shootings are happening nearly every week across Winnipeg and in many cases, youth are involved. They are concerning cases that outreach workers say show a disturbing trend.

“We seem to be in a spike, for sure, and the demographic does seem to be younger at this time,” community outreach worker Mitch Bourbonniere said.

At the end of March a man was killed in Assiniboine Park and two teens, 15 and 17, have been charged with second-degree murder.

Just a few weeks later, a 13-year-old was charged with 14 offences, including four armed robberies.

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On Monday, a 16-year-old was brought to hospital after being shot.

These are just a few of the recent cases involving youth victims and suspects.

“We’re in a war. We’re in a war with our children, and it’s deadly,” Bourbonniere said. “There’s guns and gangs and drugs. I suffered the loss of a young man two days ago.”

That man was killed at 24 years old and had been involved with Bourbonniere since he was 12.

“He’s in the spirit world,” Bourbonniere said.

“It’s like succumbing to an illness, really, and my heart is broken.”

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Bourbonniere said he’s noticed a rise in youth crime and despite his and others’ best efforts to get many on the right path, too many troubled teens are still falling through the cracks.

“Some find a way out and some die trying,” he said.

The Boys and Girls Clubs has been a solace for many at-risk children and youth. President and CEO Ron Brown said demand for help at the organization is higher than it has ever been.

“The need is there,” he said. “It might be greater now than at any point in our history and our numbers are increasing.”

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The organization released a study in early 2020, prior to the pandemic, and said it found that children and youth who were involved with its programs were less likely to have involvement with the justice system.

“The more time they spent with us, the less likely they were to have to have any occurrences within the justice system,” Brown said.

“They were less likely to be involved in crime and the more they visited, in other words, the more they attended, the better that statistic got.”

Brown said it is concerning to see how many recent cases have involved youths and it shows how much work there still is to do.