Windsor Police Statistics Show Increase in Property Crimes This Summer

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You weren’t being paranoid – property crime spiked in Windsor this summer.

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Statistics released during a meeting of the Windsor Police Services Board on Thursday showed 1,152 property crimes were reported in July alone, a 25 percent increase compared to July 2020.

But the most revealing July statistics came in specific categories: a 77 percent increase in burglary incidents (165) and a 120 percent increase in car thefts (112).

There were also increases in robberies valued at less than $ 5,000 (390), robberies valued at more than $ 5,000 (11), vehicle thefts (156), and arson cases (5).

“We are seeing increases year over year,” said District 3 Councilman and Windsor Police Services Board member Rino Bortolin.

“What do we do with these statistics? Do we examine the rationale and reasons behind this? Do we try to find out what could have caused those jumps and how do we handle them? “

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Bortolin noted that the crime categories showing increases are exactly “things that I will hear about, often, from residents. Little (missing) things, someone broke into a shed, that sort of thing. “

Deputy Chief of Operations Jason Bellaire acknowledged the problematic statistics, but noted that the year-over-year increases may also reflect that last year’s figures were not “typical” due to the COVID-19 lockdown measures.

“I think there is some degree of correction (in progress), if that’s the right word,” Bellaire said.

“But we use those statistics to the best of our ability to inform our implementation, what we are doing in our strategies, and we work with our communities more on opportunities to ‘strengthen the goal’ of our residences and vehicles.”

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Bellaire added that it is worth acknowledging that some of Windsor’s crime statistics are based on “underlying problems” in the city.

“I don’t think it’s a coincidence that we are seeing more frequent alerts about opioid use and other drug use,” Bellaire said. “We are seeing that people may not have access to the support services they need.”

“I think a lot of these (crimes) are manifestations of other things that are happening in our communities. We are doing our best to respond after (them). “

The Windsor-Essex Community Opioid and Substance Strategy (WECOSS) has issued alerts about a high number of opioid overdoses in the region for two consecutive weeks this month.

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From September 8-14, local hospitals handled 10 overdose cases and Essex-Windsor EMS responded to eight of those cases within a three-day period.

The following week, Sept. 14-20, local hospitals handled 12 overdose cases, plus four non-overdose opioid-related ER visits.

The vast majority of the cases involved fentanyl.

“Historically, the number of overdoses reported during this period is significantly high compared to our five-year average,” stated WECOSS.

“Partners involved in WECOSS, including Windsor-Essex County Health Unit, Windsor Regional Hospital, Essex-Windsor EMS, Erie Shores Healthcare and law enforcement, continue to monitor this increase and are working to understand more. on these reported cases. “

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