Ontario's chiefs of police are focused on reducing property crime this year.
Supervisor of the Windsor police's Community Services Branch Sergeant Wren Dosant says there's been a 12% decline in crime-reporting calls since 2012 and police services want to see more community engagement. That's why the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police is launching the 'Protect Your Property. Protect Yourself.' campaign. "They (citizens) think it's a nuisance, perhaps. 'It's a nuisance call -- we don't want to bother the police with this. They have more important things to do.' That's not true," explains Dosant. "It's our core function to make their communities safe. So I implore the citizens of Windsor to make that call. Make us earn our money."
Property crime such as break-and-enters have been declining across the province over the past several years, but other types of crimes such as identification theft and fraud are on the rise.
Dosant says its important to get to know your neighbours and make yourself aware of what's going on, not only in your community, but online, so that the police can be notified when things don't seem right.