Following through on a commitment made in his State of the City address, Mayor Scott Gillingham announced today his office is launching the search for a new Senior Advisor on Public Safety.
This new role will use existing resources to help drive progress on public safety by supporting intergovernmental advocacy, strengthening relationships with police and community stakeholders, gathering critical data, and advancing key policy initiatives like the development of a mental health crisis response unit.
“Just like the addition of a Senior Advisor on Homelessness helped bring us to the point where all levels of government are working together on one plan to address homelessness in Winnipeg, this new advisor will help sharpen our focus on public safety, because we need better coordination to build a safer city,” said Gillingham.
“The challenges we face are complex -- whether it's lobbying Ottawa for bail and sentencing reform, working with police and community organizations, or bringing forward new approaches like a mental health crisis response team,” he added. “This new advisor will help move that work forward.”
Key responsibilities of the Senior Advisor on Public Safety will include:
- Acting as a liaison with stakeholders and assisting with intergovernmental advocacy on justice issues
- Supporting community initiatives and contributing to the City’s new Safe Winnipeg Initiative by gathering and analyzing critical crime data;
- Developing policy proposals to improve crime prevention in Winnipeg, including work related to a potential mental health emergency response unit; and
- Assisting with public communications on safety-related matters.
“One area where cities like Winnipeg can be stronger is in advocacy around Criminal Code reform,” said Gillingham, who serves as Vice-Chair of the Big City Mayors’ Caucus of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. “To be more persuasive, we need to be more precise. That means better data, so we can clearly show the scale of the challenges and make the case for the reforms we need.”
Details on the position are available at Winnipeg.ca/Mayor.