Windsor's police chief says officers have been working diligently to combat increased crime in the city, despite an increase in emergency calls.
Police Chief Al Frederick provided the media with an update Friday on a series of investigations stretching back several weeks, ranging from break-and-enters to homicides. He also took the time to reassure residents that, despite increased crime in the downtown core, officers are working hard to adequately meet the demand for service.
Frederick said the problem with that, though, is that calls for service are at their highest level since the early 2000s. Focusing on last Saturday and Sunday, the chief said the 911 centre took 587 calls for service. Those numbers have been keeping officers busy.
"We're stretched," said Frederick. "Our resources are absolutely being utilized at capacity and then some. That's something we all need to work together on."
One of the initiatives recently put into motion has been to place about a dozen officers in the downtown core, especially on weekends with the increased foot traffic. The chief said even under the most ideal of circumstances, it can still take six to 12 months to train new officers and get them on the streets, but that hasn't stopped the service from recruiting. In the meantime, Frederick said current officers have been deployed to patrol downtown.
Frederick also addressed an initiative to help the city's homeless and others at risk, which had been brought up by Mayor Drew Dilkens last week as part of his re-election platform.
"Our focus is on enforcement, on criminal activity," said Frederick. "Why the homeless is increasing is really a question for our partner agencies, and we're working right along with them to understand what is causing this. It seems to be spiking, there's no question about that."
The information discussed by the chief will be turned over to the Windsor police board during its scheduled meeting next week.
Meanwhile, the mayor said the city's pending absorption of the Amherstburg Police Department is not stretching officers thin. Dilkens told BlackburnNewsWindsor.com during a campaign appearance Friday that the hard work is done and they are still on schedule to take over policing in Amherstburg January 1.