Hydro, Manitoba Housing HQ to hire safety officers
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WINNIPEG — Manitoba Hydro plans to deploy institutional safety officers at its downtown headquarters, which was the site of a recent knife attack that prompted an ongoing lockdown of the building.
The provincial government updated regulations on Jan. 14 to allow institutional safety officers to be stationed at Manitoba Hydro and the Manitoba Housing & Renewal Corp. — both of which have offices downtown. The government didn’t publicly announce the change. Previously, safety officers were permitted to patrol hospitals and post-secondary institutions.
Safety officers, who are equipped with pepper gel and handcuffs, are specially trained and licensed security staff who have the legal authority to restrain, detain and make an arrest. Most security guards are contract workers who don’t have the ability to restrain or detain suspects. Instead, they rely on police officers. Safety officers can detain a suspect until backup arrives.
Hydro spokesperson Peter Chura said the Crown corporation will initially hire three security staffers with the specialized training at its 360 Portage Ave. location next week while it works with Manitoba Justice to develop a more thorough safety officer program.
About 2,000 Hydro employees work at the downtown tower.
On Friday, a man armed with a knife attacked a Hydro employee in the lobby as they were leaving work. Another employee and staff from a nearby restaurant had to intervene before security and police arrived.
The building has been on lockdown since then. Only employees are permitted in the building and people who want to access the two restaurants and dining hall must use external entrances.
Hydro has not said when the building will reopen to the public.
In September, Hydro closed public access to the building after 6 p.m. because of an increasing number of incidents involving unco-operative and intoxicated individuals.
Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 998, which represents about 700 technical and clerical employees at the downtown HQ, is calling on the province to hire safety officers immediately.
Details about assigning safety officers to the Manitoba Housing & Renewal Corp. office at 352 Donald St. were not available Wednesday.
Mackenzie Robb, general manager of Rudy’s Eat & Drink, the eatery inside Hydro’s HQ, welcomed the idea of installing specialized safety officers in the building.
“Anybody who’s competent and has skill in defusing intense situations is welcomed,” she said.
» Winnipeg Free Press