Stronger police presence in Windsor’s Glengarry neighbourhood

Windsor Police response times are down, but some crimes are up. CTV Windsor’s Bob Bellacicco recaps Thursday’s police board meeting.

Windsor police are re-establishing their presence in the Glengarry neighbourhood after relaxing efforts.

Things were going well in Windsor’s Glengarry neighbourhood.

“Mid-summer we saw some success,” said acting Deputy Chief Ken Cribley.

But after relaxing their efforts, Windsor Police say they’ve seen a spike in calls for service and crime in certain neighbourhoods including the 300-400 blocks of Glengarry.

“We’re going to have to revisit the idea and go back to the fundamental initial response which was having officers on scene,” Cribley said.

That was one of the topics discussed during Thursday’s Police Board Meeting.

Administrative duties have been reduced helping put more officers on the street. As a result, Police Chief Jason Crowley noted traffic stops are up 48 per cent since January and priority one response times dropped to below seven minutes last week. That is down nearly 17 per cent year to date, he explained.

“The second someone calls 911, I need the police, the timer starts so under seven minutes we have police priority one call which is outstanding work by our people.” Crowley said.

The restructuring is expected to help increase police visibility in the community.

“I’m really pleased that the police force is looking at ways that they can free the patrol officers up quickly so they can get back and be out on our streets,” said city councillor Jim Morrison.

Crowley also noted a Crown attorney is now embedded inside police headquarters, a move aimed at speeding up investigations and improving efficiency for frontline officers.

“All these things are going to mean that our frontline police officers are going to be strengthened in terms of numbers and having them out in the community is going to be priority,” fellow councillor Jo-Anne Gignac said.

“Even the bike patrol in the summer, it’s important for people to see police presence out in the neighbourhood so I’m delighted.”

Crowley also reported impaired driving is up 104 per cent year to date, including six incidents at the bridge and 10 at the tunnel.

“We are going to be increasing the number of RIDE programs as a result.”

Crowley added identity fraud has risen by 54 cases so far this year, an alarming 113 per cent increase.

“It’s a crime that is really difficult to combat but we are working with our provincial and international partners to combat it right now, so we hope to see some improvement there in the coming weeks.”