Mayor Scott Gillingham today released his second weekly bulletin on repeat offenders, drawing attention to a Winnipeg case where bail decisions contributed to a preventable murder.
The anonymized case, shared by the Winnipeg Police Service and the Manitoba Integrated Violent Offender Apprehension Unit, involves an offender with a violent history stretching back nearly two decades. Between 2005 and 2023, the offender was arrested 16 times, breached court orders 15 times, and convicted of nine violent offences.
They were responsible for a random assault involving multiple victims in Osborne Village, drug-related attacks involving firearms, a shooting outside a house party, a serious assault inside a Winnipeg hotel involving a firearm, and multiple violent assaults on family members
Despite that record, the individual was released on an undertaking after an assault arrest in 2021. While out on bail, they committed second-degree murder in a fatal shooting.
“This is yet another real-world case where the simple act of denying bail to a habitual offender would have prevented another terrible crime,” Gillingham said. “Innocent lives are being lost because our laws don’t provide the tools to keep dangerous people off the streets. Presumption of innocence should never mean turning a blind eye to public safety.”
The Mayor noted that Winnipeg Police are making more arrests than ever before, with July 2025 setting a record of 1,891 individual arrests in a single month. Yet many habitual offenders are quickly released back into the community, even when they have a proven history of ignoring bail conditions.
Mayor Gillingham is urging Winnipeggers who support bail and sentencing reform to contact Canada’s Justice Minister, Sean Fraser, at mcu@justice.gc.ca.
“Law enforcement and social programs alone cannot solve this problem,” Gillingham said. “We need legislative change at the federal level to keep our communities safe.”
Video Link: https://youtu.be/S5rsndI0EJg