South Simcoe Police answered 2,159 calls for service during the month of August.
But as Deputy Chief John Van Dyke told the Bradford West Gwillimbury-Innisfil Police Services Board, the numbers are not reflective of the workload.
“Almost in every criminal category, our numbers are up,” the deputy chief told the board. In August, thefts of vehicles, thefts from vehicles, assaults, domestic dispute calls were all up “substantially,” he said - and impaired driving “has seen a major increase.”
Van Dyke praised those members of the public who have assisted police, calling 911 to report impaired drivers on the roads in South Simcoe. However, he noted, the time required to arrest, charge and process an impaired driver is huge, and has contributed to a reduction in the number of officers available to carry out pro-active policing.
“Proactive work is down significantly,” he said, explaining that part of the issue has been an ongoing staffing challenge. With retirements and a number of officers injured, the service has been short-staffed even while dealing with an increase in crime, and cases that can tie up officers for hours.
It takes “a minimum of six hours just to process the paperwork” for each impaired charge, and that’s if the arrest does not involve a collision or injuries, Van Dyke said.
Administering breathalyzer tests, 20 minutes apart, can tie up a technician for about two hours per case. Then there is the time required for the sergeant on duty to process a suspect before he or she is held or released, including assessing level of intoxication, medical condition, and searching the suspect for hazardous materials in their possession; and the need for arresting officers to review personal video, and prepare a brief for the courts within the two-week period demanded by the system.
It takes a huge amount of staff time “just for one typical, run-of-the-mill, bread-and-butter impaired,” the deputy chief told PSB members, “so when our criminal work goes up, our proactive work goes down.”
Van Dyke noted that when he started policing, 32 years ago, “we could process an impaired in just 2 hours.” Now, he said, “It ties up a lot of officers for a lot of time.”
And if there is a collision with injuries, requiring the investigating officer to obtain a search warrant to take a blood sample for toxicological analysis, “that’s a whole different ball game.”
Despite increased fines, longer licence suspensions, vehicle seizures, increases in insurance premiums, and the potential cost of interlock devices if ordered by the courts, “people still continue to drink and drive. It is mind-boggling,” Van Dyke said.
Chief Andrew Fletcher suggested that the solution doesn’t lie in stiffer fines or even more officers, but in a change in society’s attitudes.
“At some point we need to make drinking and driving socially unacceptable,” Fletcher said. “That’s where I think society has a role to play. Somehow we need to change the dialogue.”
He noted that social drinking at parties, weddings and gatherings is still socially acceptable, although more people are taking action, to take the keys or call police to report drinking partygoers who insist on driving.
“If you love your daughter, if you love your son, if you love that family member – do the right thing and take the keys,” urged the police chief. “They might not get caught by police, but they might kill themselves or they might kill someone else.”
Innisfil Mayor and Board member Lynn Dollin noted that the situation today is “better than when I was a youth. I think we have come a little way” – but she also pointed out that alcohol consumption in Simcoe County is above the provincial average, and more work is needed.
In the update provided to the PSB, Deputy Chief Van Dyke provided details of a number of specific investigations, including a robbery and assault with a weapon in Lefroy; an attempted armed robbery in Bradford; and a motorist who drove into Lake Simcoe at the end of ShoreAcres Drive and tried to call a tow truck without notifying police.
“We do get a couple of these normally every year,” said Van Dyke, adding that the tow truck operator did notify police, and thankfully, “nobody was injured and nobody drowned.”
But there were two fatal crashes among the 766 reportable collisions investigated by South Simcoe Police during the month of August.
On Aug. 14, a two-vehicle collision on County Road 27 at Line 9 of BWG took the life of a driver. A Mustang westbound on Line 9 “blew the stop sign and was T-boned,” the deputy chief said. The driver, a 21-year-old Beeton man, was pronounced dead at the scene.
On Aug. 29, a white Mazda 3 travelling at a high rate of speed on Sideroad 10 near Line 2 in Innisfil, left the road. The driver, a 45-year-old Angus resident, was not wearing a seatbelt; he was ejected from the car and killed.
In both cases, investigation is ongoing, as police await the results of toxicology tests to determine if impairment played a role.
South Simcoe Police have received over 17,000 calls for service to date in 2021. Noted Van Dyke, “We still have four months left in the year and anything can happen.”
