Windsor Police Service’s mandate for public safety has never been in question — but a recent surge in calls for service has been testing the limits of the force’s resources, admits Chief Al Frederick.
“Our resources are absolutely being utilized at capacity, and then some,” Frederick said at Windsor police headquarters on Friday. “It’s something we all need to work together on.”
Frederick said the weekend of Sept. 15-16 alone had Windsor police responding to 587 calls for service — including 26 arrests, nine collisions with injuries, eight fights, four high-risk missing persons and 28 domestic incidents.
According to Frederick, there are “multi-hundreds of calls” to Windsor police every weekend — but close to 600 is definitely high, in his estimation.
“We were stretched, to be quite frank with you,” Frederick said.
Beyond the sheer number of calls, the nature of the incidents required significant commitment of personnel, he said.
Media were invited to headquarters to hear the chief describe how Windsor police have been reallocating officers to address “rising crime rates in the downtown area.”
Chief of Windsor police Al Frederick addresses media at WPS headquarters on Sept. 21, 2018.
Frederick pointed to the results of a downtown enforcement initiative earlier this week: Patrol officers made multiple arrests on the streets of the city’s core on Wednesday and Thursday, including five people who were wanted on outstanding warrants, two people who were found to be in breach of probation conditions concerning non-association, one person in relation to a disturbance, and two people in relation to a vehicle stop that led to drug charges.
The vehicle stop happened on Wednesday in the area of Wyandotte Street West and Pelissier Street. Windsor police had been following the vehicle because its plates were registered to a different car, and the occupants were showing behaviours “consistent with drug trafficking.”
The female driver was found to be the subject of an outstanding warrant. The male passenger was found to have suspected methamphetamine, fentanyl and hydromorphone — along with more than $17,000 in cash.
Further search of the vehicle uncovered quantities of methadone and marijuana, miscellaneous pills and drug paraphernalia.
Manuel Hernandez, 51, of Windsor, faces two counts of possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking and two counts of possession of a controlled substance.
Brittney Michos, 30, of Windsor, has been charged with two counts of possession of a controlled substance and multiple driving-related offences.
Crystal meth was also at the root of an arrest that Windsor police made in the 300 block of Glengarry Avenue on Thursday. A man who was the subject of an outstanding warrant was found to be in possession of a quantity of suspected methamphetamine, as well as an airsoft pistol — a violation of his terms of probation.
Justin Kaczmarski, 35, of Windsor, has been charged with possession of a controlled substance and three counts of breach of probation, two of them related to firearms.
Frederick said “a very complex set of conditions” is responsible for the rise in calls from the downtown area.
“We are committing to law enforcement and public safety in our downtown core, as we are throughout the city,” Frederick said.
Downtown incidents resulting in criminal charges weren’t the only situations that Windsor police had to respond to this past week. Frederick noted that on Wednesday, patrol officers were called to the area of Wyandotte Street West and Langlois Avenue — near the Street Help Homeless Centre — about people “setting up tents and squatting on private property.”
The neighbourhood has been struggling with vagrancy issues over the past summer, including a man’s death in an alley on Aug. 24 that was suspected to be related to drug use.
Frederick said officers on found the lot “littered with garbage.” A large shelter had been illegally constructed out of tents and tarp.
The people who were trespassing were told to remove the structure and leave the property.
Frederick said further investigation found that a city-owned light standard had been damaged to gain access to electricity. “An electrical cord was running into the makeshift camp,” he said.
“This theft of hydro put the community at significant risk,” Frederick said.
Related
At the same time as these matters were being addressed, Windsor police have continued active investigations of major crimes — such as the Aug. 27 shooting death of a 20-year-old man in downtown Windsor, and the Sept. 8 fatal shooting of an 18-year-old male at 327 Hall Ave.
Two males are facing murder charges in relation to the Hall Avenue shooting. No arrests have been made on the Aug. 27 shooting.
“Public safety is about crime prevention and crime investigation,” Frederick said. “That’s the mandate.”
Anyone with information about Windsor crimes is encouraged to contact police at 519-255-6700 ext. 4000.
Anonymous tips can be made via Crime Stoppers at 519-258-8477 or www.catchcrooks.com.
dchen@postmedia.com