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Winnipeg Sun: Remnants of COVID disruption could be driving rural Manitoba homicide spike: prof

Fiona Odlum — Mon, 09 Dec 2024 21:32:08 +0000

A significant spike in rural homicides this year is raising alarm bells in rural Manitoba, but a local criminology professor says the numbers we are seeing might not be cause for panic just yet.

“The questions are all the same, it’s, ‘what’s going on?’ And generally the answer is probably nothing is going on,” University of Manitoba Instructor of Sociology and Criminology Frank Cormier said on Friday.

“The vast majority of homicides are disorganized kinds of crimes, it’s different if there’s a gang war going on and people are knocking off their rivals, but the majority of homicides in Manitoba are interpersonal issues.”

To read the entire article, please follow the link in The Hamilton Spectator.

CBC Manitoba: Number of homicides in Manitoba RCMP jurisdictions nearly double 2023 total

Fiona Odlum — Thu, 05 Dec 2024 20:22:22 +0000

The data also shows 2022 had the second-highest number of homicides recorded in RCMP jurisdictions in the past five years, sitting at 38.

Despite this year’s spike, a criminologist said the numbers have to be examined with caution.

“It’s quite a striking number … but a difference like that is not necessarily a trend,” said Frank Cormier, a criminologist at the University of Manitoba.

“It could be an anomaly, and it might not mean anything at all.”

To read the full article, please visit the link with CBC Manitoba.

Winnipeg Free Press: Former prosecutor says trucker could have been arrested, RCMP disagree

Fiona Odlum — Fri, 22 Nov 2024 20:42:23 +0000

A former Crown prosecutor says Manitoba RCMP likely could have arrested a semi-truck driver now wanted on Canada-wide warrant, but police argue it wouldn’t have stopped the man from leaving before they pressed charges.

Mounties continued the search Friday for 25-year-old Navjeet Singh, who was charged Wednesday in a fatal collision that killed Sara Unger, 35, and her eight-year-old Alexa Unger.

“I think anybody looking back on this turn of events on this case might say, ‘Well, wasn’t it foreseeable, wasn’t it predictable that this could have happened?’” said former prosecutor and assistant law professor at the University of Manitoba, Brandon Trask.

To read the entire article, please follow the link here with the Winnipeg Free Press.