Police say most crime is down in Windsor, but fraud is up

During Monday's Windsor Police Service board meeting, deputy chief Brad Hill revealed that overall crime was down in the city, but fraud crimes were on the rise.

Hill said crimes had been declining all year, stating that overall crime was down 4.9 per cent compared to a year ago and that property crime specifically was down 16.67 per cent. He believes the improvement is a direct result of the Problem-Oriented Police (POP) unit.

"[We have] more bodies on the ground and that helps us," he said. "It cuts down on the number of cars being broken into and we're seeing some successes there."

The POP unit was brought in to make citizens in the downtown area feel safer, said Hill, but the group of officers is also used in other areas where police say crime is increasing. For instance, earlier this year, the unit was deployed to handle an unspecified issue in south Windsor.

"We solved that problem, so that's the idea of the POP unit's problem-oriented policing," Hill said. "When a problem arises in a specific neighborhood, we deploy to that neighborhood with this group of officers and hopefully make an impact quickly."

Although crime rates are declining, Hill said it doesn't mean the POP program will grow.

"At some point time, budget restraints, we have to make do with what we have. You could always use more police officers and more police officers to put on the ground obviously are going to have an impact, but I am happy with what we have," he said.

Hill added that the Windsor Police Service has been fortunate enough to have 24 more officers join the POP unit since he became deputy chief in 2018.

He said it's impossible to tell which crimes didn't occur because of the influence of police in the area, but added that he believes the unit works. It's also why Windsor police have an officer in the mall every Christmas. 

"[People] see a police officer at the mall, they don't shoplift," said Hill. "However, we don't have a stat to say 'Oh this person didn't shoplift,' because you don't know what crimes you prevent."

Fraud up

Nonetheless, Hill said the frequency of fraud-related crimes is on the rise, which could be in part due to an increase in thefts.

"You leave your wallet in your car, the wallet gets stolen," he said. "That one wallet stolen for their three credit cards and it could turn into through 30 fraud offences."

An increased presence of technology is helping to solve those crimes, said Hill. For instance, stores have cameras, which take photos of people using stolen credit cards.

Hill reminded vehicle-owners to lock their doors.