Police team dedicated to COVID-19 response has wrapped up: Larkin

The Waterloo Regional Police Service says a police team dedicated to enforcing pandemic restrictions is no more. 

The COVID-19 Integrated Response Team (CIRT) wrapped up on Sunday, Chief Bryan Larkin said at a police services board meeting Wednesday. 

Year to date, Larkin said the team has laid 106 charges under the Reopening Ontario Act and the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act. 

There will be more to come, Larkin said, as the team continues to lay charges in connection with an anti-lockdown rally held in Uptown Waterloo June 6. 

Larkin has said previously there is often a lag between when an event is held and when charges are laid. 

Team created in response to 'civil disobedience'

The team began work on April 25 this year. In recent months, it has been the region's primary response to pandemic-related calls. 

It was formed in response to an uptick in "civil disobedience" over the holidays and through the spring in Waterloo region, Larkin said Wednesday. 

"We started to hear loud from our community that they wanted more enforcement," said Larkin. "They felt that, you know, we simply weren't taking action."

In an April news release, police said the team's role would involve responding to unlawful gatherings and any "pandemic-related public demonstration." The team worked in partnership with bylaw and other enforcement agencies.

Larkin said it has wrapped up in part because police resources are needed elsewhere, and in part because the province is now reopening. 

Over the weekend, Larkin said officers were out enforcing rules on patios and in newly reopened businesses, and that most people were in compliance. 

Just one person showed up to a demonstration in Uptown Waterloo on Sunday, Larkin said.