Law, government, and crime in Winnipeg being the provincial capital of Manitoba, Winnipeg has served as the capital for two other Canadian territories: the Northwest Territories from 1870 to 1876 and the District of Keewatin from 1876 to 1905. Winnipeg is policed by the Winnipeg Police Service, which in 2012, had 1,442 police officers. In 2017, Winnipeg had 192 police officers per 100,000 people, down from 200 in 2015. A change that is consistent with an overall decline in police officers per capita across Canada, which saw a 1% drop last year and a 1% decline the year before. At 192, Winnipeg has among the highest
Law, government, and crime in Winnipeg number of cops per capita among major Canadian cities with populations of 500,000 or more. Winnipeg has long been one of Canada's most violent cities. From 1981 to 2012, Winnipeg has been the "murder capital" 16 times, of every Canadian Metropolitan Area, which is 51.6% of the time. From 2007 to 2012, Winnipeg was the murder capital every year. Over a similar time period, Winnipeg has consistently had the highest rates of robbery, sexual assault, and violent crime index of any large Canadian city. Winnipeg has had the highest violent crime index since 2009, where it was more than double