Police are stealing the thunder from shoplifters in Bradford and Innisfil.
South Simcoe Police Service Deputy Chief Sheryl Sutton presented the operational update for April during the police services board meeting at the South Division building in Bradford on Wednesday, May 29.
According to the report, police responded to 24 shoplifting incidents last month, bringing the total over the first four months of the year to 77. That marks an 83 per cent increase over the 42 shoplifting incidents in the same time last year. By the end of 2023, police responded to total of 108 shoplifting incidents.
That increasing trend led to the service’s first-ever retail blitz which ran for 10 days and concluded in early May, by which time police laid 94 criminal charges after clearing 51 incidents and identifying 35 people linked to multiple thefts.
Only two young offenders were apprehended during the blitz, according to police.
“We really need to change our mindset and how we perceive shoplifting, because it’s no longer kids — it really is organized crime,” Sutton said, describing thieves with shopping carts full of high-end tools. “It’s just so brazen.”
As one example, the deputy chief explained the LCBO in Bradford is targeted “pretty much daily,” and as another example, board member Sarbjit Singh said he had been in Sault Ste. Marie a few weeks ago where even the grocery store had hired security.
Chief John Van Dyke said that locally, organized crime groups travel the area and cross municipalities to target retail stores.
“It’s not gangs, but it is organized — people stealing for profit,” he said.
According to a recent media release, police estimate losses from retail theft in 2023 exceeded $600,000 as reported by “just a handful” of Bradford and Innisfil stores.
Fatal collisions on the rise
According to the report, April 2024 saw 109 motor vehicle collisions — an increase over the 93 in April last year — with 57 in Bradford and 52 Innisfil. Of those, 90 resulted in property damage, 10 resulted in injury and nine involved a hit and run.
There was one fatal collision reported in April, and two so far in May, bringing the total to three so far in 2024.
While locations along Holland Street West continued to be common spots for crashes in Bradford, Barrie Street and Line 8 each saw four.
In Innisfil, Innisfil Beach Road continued to have the most collisions, and the intersections with Yonge Street and Sideroad 5 topped the list with four and three, respectively.
Collisions are listed based on nearby intersections and addresses, and may not have occurred at those exact locations.
Police are still waiting for results from National Road Safety Week enforcement, and a commercial vehicle blitz is anticipated, but no date could be revealed yet.
April Breakdown
The report showed 2,639 calls for service in April 2024, a slight increase from the 2,605 calls in April 2023.
This April saw 50.43 per cent in Bradford, where Patrol Zones E and D were busiest, and 49.57 per cent in Innisfil, where Patrol Zone B was busiest.
Patrol Zone E is in Bradford from Holland Street south, and Patrol Zone D is in Bradford from Holland Street north, while Patrol Zone B is in Innisfil east of Sideroad 10, between Line 5 and Line 9.
As is usual, only 29 of April’s calls for service were the highest priority.
There were some areas in which calls increased in April 2024 compared to April 2023, including:
- Fraud increased to 31 from 23
- Bylaw-related increased to 18 from 14
- Stolen vehicles increased to 10 from eight
- Break and enters increased to nine from seven
Calls for assaults decreased to 14 from 15; however, there were other areas in which calls decreased in March 2024 compared to March 2023, including:
- Thefts from vehicles decreased to four from 11
- Landlord disputes decreased to nine from 20
- Impaired calls were down to 20 from 26
- Mental health calls decreased to 18 from 21
- Domestics decreased to 63 from 66
Crisis Calls
Crisis calls decreased slightly in April to 42, compared to 44 in March, with 10 of April’s calls handled by the Crisis Outreach and Support Team (COAST), while 32 were handled by front-line officers.
Sutton had previously explained the number of calls handled by front-line officers came down to timing, with many calls coming in at times when crisis workers weren’t available.
However, that could be set to change, as dignitaries and police officials announced on May 3 that the service’s COAST community partners — York Support Services Network and Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) Simcoe County — are set to provide an additional 2,420 hours of support.
That’s thanks to $117,865 in funding the province provided to the service back in October through the Mobile Crisis Response Team Enhancement (MCRT) grant.
While 28 of April’s calls resulted in people being taken to hospital, 14 were diverted.
Of those who were taken to hospital, six went voluntarily.
The average wait times for officers offloading patients at Barrie's Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre held steady at 2.1 hours in April, while times at Newmarket's Southlake Regional Health Centre decreased to 1.4 hours from 1.8 hours in March.
Under certain circumstances, officers who encounter people in crisis may take them to hospital for assessment, but must remain with them until they are admitted.
