A PARK FOR PEOPLE

Progress Made, Police Say

It wasn't the mother lode of drugs, and nobody's saying Central Park
is free of pushers now, but Winnipeg police are calling their recent
effort to clean up the downtown park a good first step in reclaiming
it for the people.

Since the summer, police have been working on what they call the
Central Park Revitalization (CPR) project. That came to a head
Wednesday night with the arrest of 15 people and the seizure of about
$3,000 worth of powdered and crack cocaine, as well as two guns.

But police say the partnerships they've formed with community groups
in the neighbourhood and the commitment the project shows to cleaning
up Central Park are more meaningful than these specific busts.

"I'm not saying that we stopped (the drug trade), that it's over,"
said Insp. Dave Thorne, divisional commander of police district 1.

"Our goal here was to deal with Central Park, for people to be able to
use a wonderful green space downtown," he said, adding police intend
to maintain an increased presence in the park. "There's a fear that
when the streetlights go on, everyone goes in."

Thorne said the second major component of the CPR project was to
better understand Central Park's challenges by forming relationships
with groups like the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization of
Manitoba, the Downtown and West End BIZs and the Manitoba Housing Authority.

"I think sometimes we're convinced that (police) know what all the
challenges are, but the reality is perhaps we don't. Sometimes we
don't listen to the people who live it," Thorne said. "One of the
things we want to do is keep on with the relationships we've built."