Winnipeg police arrest over 600 in Project Revive, say crime persists Winnipeg police made more than 600 arrests during Project Revive, a multi-month crackdown on drug trafficking and crime in William Whyte and Point Douglas, but say crime remains out of control. Insp. Elton Hall called for a co-ordinated plan among all levels of government and health and housing agencies. Winnipeg police made more than 600 arrests during a multi-month project aimed at curbing drug trafficking and crime in the inner-city, but say it still wasn't enough to restore order. Insp. Elton Hall said Thursday that despite the arrests, the area still suffers from disorder and lawlessness. The project, called Project Revive, ran from May 15 to Sept. 30 and targeted the William Whyte and Point Douglas neighbourhoods. It was carried out by the North District's 16-officer community support unit.General patrol officers increased patrols by 20 per cent, and the guns and gangs unit added resources when available."With all due respect, we policed the hell out of this area and did what we could to get rid of the drug traffickers and the lawlessness. But it's still here," Hall said. He said the two neighbourhoods are in the grip of a toxic drug crisis and have experienced an unprecedented increase in crime, affecting every aspect of community well-being. As part of the crackdown, police made 423 arrests and 202 more on warrants.Drug seizures and arrests in targeted areasOfficers executed eight search warrants at problem residences, including drug houses and sex-trafficking locations. Police also disrupted a break-and-enter network. The project resulted in police relocating 24 encampments and having Narcan administered to 124 people in July and August. Police seized about $250,000 worth of illegal drugs, along with firearms and about $45,000 in cash."There was absolute lawlessness and chaos at the height of the end of July," Hall said. "The encampment issue was so problematic in Point Douglas at one point, and William Whyte, that we actually did not know what to do. " Hall said police partnered with several community-based agencies, including Ndinawe Youth Resource Centre, to connect people with assistance.While he called the initiative a great success from a policing perspective, he said there's still a lot of disorder, lawlessness, and problems in the area. Hall said police cannot fix the problem alone and called for a co-ordinated plan among all three levels of government, along with health and housing agencies.Police need government support for housing"Police cannot be expected to solve a housing and social service crisis through enforcement alone," he said. "These are all medical issues and issues outside of policing. " Hall said local shelters are short on money and police have no beds to turn people over to. "It comes down to money; it really does, because the police can't do this on their own," he said."The officers worked hard. A lot of them didn't take their annual leave. A lot of overtime." On Thursday, the federal government released a budget that included more than $1 billion for a Centre for Mental Health and Addictions in Winnipeg. The commitment includes up to $800 million to build 2,000 housing units. Hall said his community support unit alone could use another 25 or 30 officers, though he called that unrealistic given budget constraints.Calls for more officers and better fundingHe also said the city needs more police officers, adding that the police service hasn't been able to keep up with funding and supplying the human resources to deal with the city's growth. During his re-election campaign, Scott Gillingham pledged to add more police officers in the next several years in a way that Winnipeggers can handle through their taxes, saying the city will go back to its 2016 ratio of police to population.Hall also said vacant homes in the area are a problem."The landlords need to be dealt with, or the homes need to be torn down and dealt with," he said. Darrell Warren, president of the William Whyte Neighbourhood Association, said he's optimistic for the area's future because of the officers committed to tackling crime.However, the long-time resident also called for residents to step up."People have to report stuff because if we can be the eyes and ears and help these officers, they won't be so tired, and they won't be so overworked and overwhelmed," Warren said at the news conference. "People have to realize that we cannot put police officers on every corner of the city of Winnipeg. " Warren also had a message for criminals in the neighbourhoods."Your day has come, and your time of holding our neighbourhoods hostage has finished," he said. "If you don't find yourself a new address somewhere else, I promise you, your next address will be Headingley Correctional or Stony Mountain Pen. " Hall said officers will review the results of the project and work with residents of both neighbourhoods to plan for next spring.