A Midland police services board report identifies some disturbing trends.
Presented by Southern Georgian Bay OPP detachment commander Insp. Timothy Tatchett to the board this week, what stands out in the 26-page report are dramatic increases in sexual assaults and mental health calls, including threats of suicide.
While there were no homicides last year compared to one investigated in 2021, the number of sexual assaults investigated in the detachment’s catchment area jumped from 21 in 2021 to 36 last year.
Other violent crimes seeing increases include sexual interference from two in 2021 to four last year and non-consensual distribution of intimate images from two in 2021 to three in 2022.
Assaults against peace officers doubled in 2022, going from two in 2021 to four while assault with a weapon or causing bodily harm remained steady with 19 calls investigated in 2022 compared to 17 the previous year. Officers were called to one aggravated assault over the course of both 2021 and 2022 while assault (level one) calls rose from 86 in 2021 to 99 last year.
Under the Mental Health Act, officers responded to 87 threats of suicide calls, which represents a major increase from 47 calls in 2021. The number of general mental health calls jumped from 95 in 2021 to 146 last year.
The wide-ranging report also delves into property crimes, including break and enters and bicycle thefts (25 in 2022, including the author’s new bike), Highway Traffic Act violations and other calls for service.
Overall, officers were also called to 632 motor-vehicle collisions last year, an increase of 128 from 2021. Seven of those collisions investigated last year involved fatalities.
The detachment’s clearance rate for violent crime was up from 2021, jumping from 44% to 55% last year. But the rate remains much lower than the three previous years. In 2018, the force reported a clearance rate of nearly 89% with rates of 67% and 65% reported in 2019 and 2020, respectively.
Property crime clearance rates remained low at 16% last year compared to a recent high of 20% in 2020 while drug crime clearance rates remained steady at 47% compared to 50% in 2021, but substantially lower than 78% reported in 2018.
During the warmer months, the detachment is responsible for policing 1,200 square kilometres of open water by providing marine services from mid-April to October.
The unit is composed of 11 marine trained officers, who operate four vessels ranging in size from 14 to 32 feet in length. The unit not only enforces the Criminal Code of Canada while on patrol, but also the Canada Shipping Act and a number of other pieces of legislation.
In 2022, the marine unit, which works closely with other specialized OPP units as well as the Canadian Coast Guard, provincial and federal wardens and other municipal partners, responded to 182 calls for service. Officers charged five operators with impaired and six were served with ‘warn-range’ suspensions.
The detachment is also responsible for policing approximately 200 kilometres of groomed Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Club (OFSC) snow vehicle trails as well as responding to issues on the frozen waters of Georgian Bay, Six Mile Lake and several other inland lakes.
During the winter of 2022, officers responded to 80 calls for service and logged 255.5 hours while patrolling local snowmobile trails and waterways.
“Weather and trail conditions permitting, the Southern Georgian Bay OPP are committed to ensuring a safe, enjoyable experience for all MSV operators, not just on OFSC trails, but in all locations including roadways, private property , and non-maintained trails,” Tatchett wrote in his report.
