After a year that was plagued with homicides and petty crime, the Windsor Police Service is looking towards improvement in 2019.
The city saw nearly a dozen homicides in 2018 including the murder of a 31-year-old mother in the summer while her child was in the next room and the shooting of a university student at the end of October. A stark comparison to the 2017 and 2016, both of which had three homicides take place in the city.
Although the statistics may look alarming, Sergeant Steve Betteridge said although there's no doubt there was an increase in crime in 2018 throughout Windsor, the bigger picture needs to be looked at before painting the city with a negative reputation.
"We like to look at four and five-year averages in trends before we jump the gun on anything," Betteridge said. "Yes, last year had an alarming number, there's no doubt about that, but before we jump to any nervous conclusions, we like to see what a three, four and five-year average is and then move forward from there."
Although Windsor saw almost triple the number of homicides in 2018 than the prior year, Betteridge said there are some different aspects to consider when looking at the numbers.
He said in almost 90 per cent of the cases, a suspect was identified and either arrested or had a warrant out for their arrest soon after the crime occurred.
"That's a tremendous credit to our Major Crimes Branch, to the work that our officers have done. And that's a huge signal and credit to our relationship with our community. Our community is responding with information, with tips that help us do our job. We cannot solve any crime without the help of our community," said Betteridge.
Betteridge also noted that it still remains extremely rare to have a serious "stranger on stranger" crime occur and in a majority of cases in 2018, the victim and suspect had a relationship.
So why the increase in crime?
Betteridge said each homicide has a unique set of circumstances and although many factors come into play for violent crimes, he said Windsor has it's own challenges to face.
"We're a very interesting geographical community. We're a border community we have a lot of people in and out from the United States. Then our [Highway] 401 corridor all the way up to Montreal. We have a unique set of geographical set of circumstances," he said.
Betteridge said that in 2018, Windsor police began taking intense steps to reduce crime across the city, with special focus in the downtown core. He said these actions will continue into 2019 and that crime fighting is an ongoing job.
"We responded with a special unit targeting that area [downtown]. So far our feedback from the community has been tremendous and our results from that program have been tremendous," Betteridge said. "That doesn't mean we high five each other and the jobs done, the job's never done."
Betteridge also said they are working directly with community partners to tackle issues that relate to many crimes including homelessness and opioid addiction. He also said that the City of Windsor and Mayor Drew Dilkens have approved an increase in the number of police officers in the city.
Although there's no guarantee what 2019 will bring for crime across the city, Betteridge does guarantee that officers will work as closely as they can with local residents.
"We're hoping to continue to have the great relationship with our community," Betteridge said. "One of the oldest principles in policing is that the community [is] the eyes and ears of the police. Whether it's a new year or 50 or 100 years ago, that principle will still remain the same. So we're working hand in hand to protect each other, that's the bottom line community goal."