The 2024 year-end report from the Chatham-Kent Police Service (CKPS) Administrative Support Branch is out and it reveals some positives and some negatives.
The report by Inspector Matt Stezycki showed that Intimate Partner Violence increased last year from 1,740 incidents to 1,913. However, there were 21 fewer charges laid: 282 charges in 2023 and 261 last year.
CK police noted from 2023 to 2024, the number of assault incidents went from 244 to 290 and the number of reported sexual assaults dropped from 22 to 12, while forcible confinement incidents went up one to 16, criminal harassment incidents remained at 11, and the number of firearms and dangerous weapons incidents rose from two to seven.
Last year, CK police also conducted 35 major firearms investigations, noting the largest investigation involved the seizure of 34 firearms and approximately 2,500 rounds of ammunition. ln total, CK police said 304 pounds of ammunition, 212 firearms, and 141.4 pounds of knives were destroyed all of last year.
The report also showed 364 drug seizures last year, mostly involving methamphetamine and fentanyl.
CK police also reported the transition to the Next Generation 9-1-1 system has been "significantly" delayed, but the system should be fully operational by this summer. The transition was originally planned to be completed by March 2025.
The Emergency Communication Centre (ECC) had a better year in 2024. Its average answer rate was five seconds, a significant improvement on the nine seconds reported in 2023. The ECC received almost 42,000 calls last year.
Inspector Stezycki also noted dispatchers superseded the National Emergency Number Association standards regarding the 9-1-1 call answer rate for both the 15 second and 20 second mark, adding they are very dedicated and committed to their community and their craft.
However, when it came to answering fire calls and initiating a station response, it took on average 56.7 seconds in total.
"Just as 2024, looking forward to 2025 we will continue to strive to meet the NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) performance measure standards for fire dispatch services," Stezycki said.
The CKPS Court Services Section was very busy last year processing, monitoring, and accommodating prisoners. Police said court officers handled 899 prisoners in-person, an increase of 23 from the previous year. Audio/video appearances totaled 5,038, an increase of 416 from 2023.
The amount of court overtime in 2024 also increased by nearly $13,000 to almost $33,000 due to several factors including prisoner escorts, extended court hours, and prisoner management, police said, adding that most court escorts are to Youth Detention facilities in Brampton, Niagara, and Hamilton areas.
"The number of prisoners handled by Court Services continues to trend upwards," said CK police.
Police brass also noted 153 arrests were made at the Chatham Courthouse by Court Services Staff in 2024 compared to the previous year in which 120 arrests were made.
The screening processes have resulted in the seizure of various items, such as weapons, used syringes, drugs, knives, steel bars, smoking pipes, torches, alcohol, and handcuff keys that pose a threat to the public and court staff.
CK police is also waiting on confirmation for some government grant applications, including $170,000 for CCTV surveillance cameras, $750,000 for various solutions to support victims of crime, $240,000 to support the Mobile Crisis Response Team, and their first federal grant application for $1.8 million towards youth crime prevention initiatives.