So for the past year or so Winnipeg has been enjoying an insane meth epidemic. There are all these zombie meth heads in the street that are prone to extreme sudden random violence. Cars and houses are constantly getting broken into and cyclists are being robbed of their bikes as they ride in the streets. The murder rate is already past last year's rate, and most of them have been seemingly random stabbings. One kid was murdered in his grandmother's house by a meth head who randomly invaded their home. It generally seems sort of apocalyptic, and I was just wondering if this is happening everywhere or if there us still somewhere I can escape to.
Has the meth epidemic eased up in the Peg? I think crime in Winnipeg is exaggerated by it's residents. Sure, it worse than Toronto or Ottawa, but in my 30 years of living there, I always found the perception of crime was far worse. Also, the vast majority of violent crime seemed to be confined to the usual suspected areas (North End, West End, Weston, etc). When I looked at a homocide map for 2022, only about 5 of the 45 murders were committed in the suburbs. Even when I resided in West Broadway for 3 years, I never felt threatened.
Call me naieve, but I found if one does not associate with gangs, stays clear of pubs after 11, and doesn't look for fights, there is a very low risk of being the victim of crime. I find most crime happens to vulnerable people (Mentally ill, Indigenous, etc), but there are ways we could prevent that. Anyway meth is a problem here, but I think meth use peaked the year before COVID, and may be on the decline.