Defund the Police?: In Winnipeg, a Growing Group of Mennonites Questions the Role of Law Enforcement

On March 11, 2020, the day before Manitoba reported its first infection of the coronavirus, Bronwyn Dobchuk-Land stood up in a multipurpose room at First Mennonite Church in Winnipeg to give a lecture exploring the question: How is it that Winnipeg has so many police, and so little justice and peace? Over the course of her hour-long talk, the University of Winnipeg criminal justice professor examined how nearly 30 percent of Winnipeg’s city budget is spent on the Winnipeg Police Service (WPS), a bigger single portion than any other spending pot in the city coffers.