‘So eager’: Police tackle ‘organised crime’ in Bradford, Innisfil

Police steal thunder from thieves in Bradford and Innisfil.

South Simcoe Police Assistant Chief Sheryl Sutton presented the operational update for the month of 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 in the first four months of the year to 77. This marks an 83% increase over the 42 shoplifting incidents in the same period last year. By the end of 2023, police had responded to a total of 108 theft incidents.

This upward trend led to the service’s first retail blitz, which lasted 10 days and ended in early May, when police laid 94 criminal charges after clearing 51 incidents and identifying 35 of people linked to multiple thefts.

Only two young offenders were apprehended during the attack, according to police.

“We really need to change our mindset and the way we perceive shoplifting because it’s not about kids anymore, it’s really organized crime,” Sutton said, describing shoplifters with shopping carts filled with the latest tools generation. “It’s so crazy.”

As an example, the deputy chief explained that the LCBO in Bradford is targeted “almost daily,” and as another example, board member Sarbjit Singh said he was in Sault Ste. Marie a few weeks ago, where he even hired security at the grocery store.

Chief John Van Dyke said locally, organized crime groups travel through the area and cross municipalities to target retail stores.

“They are not gangs, but they are organized – people who steal for profit,” he said.

According to a recent press release, police estimate retail theft losses 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, there were 109 motor vehicle collisions in April 2024 – an increase on 93 last April – with 57 in Bradford and 52 in Innisfil. Of these, 90 resulted in property damage, 10 resulted in injury, and nine involved a hit and run.

One fatal collision was 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 sites 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 Yonge Street and Sideroad 5 intersections 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 awaiting the results of the implementation of National Road Safety Week and a commercial vehicle attack is anticipated, but a date has yet to be revealed.

Breakdown from April

The report showed 2,639 calls for service in April 2024, a slight increase from 2,605 calls in April 2023.

April saw 50.43% in Bradford, where patrol areas E and D were the busiest, and 49.57% in Innisfil, where patrol area B was the busiest.

Patrol Area E is in Bradford from Holland Street south and Patrol Area D is in Bradford from Holland Street north, while Patrol Area B is in Innisfil east of Sideroad 10 between Line 5 and Line 9.

As usual, only 29 of the service calls in April were the highest priority.

There were several areas where calls increased in April 2024 compared to April 2023, including:

• Fraud rose to 31 from 23
• Status-related increased to 18 from 14
• Stolen vehicles increased to 10 from eight
• Break and enters increased to nine from seven

Attack calls dropped to 14 from 15; however, there were other areas where calls decreased in March 2024 compared to March 2023, including:

• Thefts from vehicles dropped to four from 11
• Landlord disputes fell to nine from 20
• Affected calls dropped to 20 from 26
• Mental health calls fell to 18 from 21
• The domestic number fell to 63 from 66

Crisis calls

Crisis calls fell 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 frontline officers.

Sutton had previously explained that the number of calls handled by frontline officers was dwindling over time, with many calls coming in at times when crisis workers were not available.

That could change, however, as dignitaries and police officials announced May 3 that the service’s COAST community partners — York Support Services Network and Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) Simcoe County — will provide 2,420 hours additional support. .

This is due to $117,865 in funding the province provided to the service in October through the Crisis Response Team (MCRT) Enhancement Grant.

While calls on April 28 resulted in people being taken to hospital, 14 were diverted.

Of those who were taken to the hospital, six went voluntarily.

The average wait time for officers discharging patients at Royal Victoria Regional Health Center in Barrie was steady at 2.1 hours in April, while times at Southlake Regional Health Center in Newmarket fell to 1.4 hours from 1.8 hours in March.

Under certain circumstances, officers who encounter people in crisis can take them to the hospital for evaluation, but must stay with them until admission.