Arrests made after search warrant executed at Winnipeg encampment: police

For the first time in Winnipeg’s history, police have executed a search warrant at a homeless encampment. CTV’s Katherine Dow has more.

Winnipeg police have executed a search warrant and made arrests at a homeless encampment in connection with a stolen property investigation.

During a Wednesday afternoon news conference, Insp. Helen Peters with the Winnipeg Police Service said officers executed a search warrant on a structure in an encampment at Waterfront Drive at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The structure had a wooden frame and was surrounded by multiple tarps, according to Peters, and bicycle parts were seized.

“If we receive reports and information related to criminal activity, it is our responsibility to investigate and help everyone in this community live peacefully and safety,” she said.

Peters said it is believed to be the first time police have executed a search warrant at an encampment.

“We are very well aware of the housing crisis that exists within our city, and we are very well aware that many people who are currently unhoused live in temporary shelters, such as the one we executed the search warrant on today,” she said. “We don’t want to be presumptive; we took the necessary actions that we felt were responsible under the court and under our current laws in seeking judicial approval to execute a warrant on a structure that might indeed be somebody’s temporary residence. With that comes an expectation of privacy.”

Three people were arrested at the scene and are facing charges of possession of property obtained by crime, but no charges have been laid yet.

Peters said they were not clearing out the encampment, and members of the Downtown Community Safety Partnership were present when the warrant was executed.