Focused patrols by Brant OPP are having positive results with just under 2,000 charges laid in 2022, says the detachment commander
“There’s been an opportunity to take enforcement action, and certainly officers had a clear understanding based on the data provided by Safe Streets,” said Insp. Andrea Quenneville. “I think it’s a good demonstration of the collaboration between the OPP and the Safe Streets program to provide enforcement where it’s needed and continue to use focused patrols.”
Brant Safe Streets is a division of the Brant County roads department which communicates with the OPP on traffic concerns in the municipality.
“Since its inception in July 2021, just over 2,600 charges have been laid,” she noted. “We are certainly having a lot of contact in our community with the motoring public.”
In her report to the Brant police services board, Quenneville noted some staffing changes.
“We’ve been fortunate to gain some additional recruits and constables,” she said. “We are also in the process of hiring a number of new sergeants for our detachment to provide some stability in the management team.”
She also noted that acting Staff Sgt. Jason McTaggart, with 27 years of policing experience in Perth County, joined Brant OPP on Dec. 12.
Quenneville said that the community mobilization officer of the Mobile Crisis Rapid Response Team dealt with nine crisis calls in September and five in October.
“She’s conducted a number of follow-up visits with members of our community to provide additional mental health support,” the commander said of the officer.
Quennville added that platoon presentations about domestic violence and its survivors have resulted in officers providing referrals to a transitional support worker, who provides support in the community.
There have been 245 mental health-related calls to Brant OPP so far in 2022.
Brant Coun. John Peirce, a member of the police services board, asked Quenneville to explain why overall patrol hours were down about 70 hours compared to the same period in 2021.
“Now that COVID restrictions have lifted there is a lot of training resuming that’s been on hold for the last couple of years,” she said.
“Officers need to meet prerequisites and ongoing certification in various things. Resuming in-person training has taken people away from the detachment.”
Quenneville noted that, due to a homicide investigation, additional resources from throughout the OPP are at the Brant detachment on a daily basis, with the criminal investigation branch providing oversight and direction.
Regarding a pedestrian fatal fail-to-remain incident earlier in the summer, Quenneville said the investigation is still “very active, and we hope to be able to have some resolution for the family.”
Here are some crime statistics for September and October, compared to that period in 2021:
• Violent crime is down 25 percent;
• Property crime is down about 20 per cent;
• Personal injury collisions up one per cent, with a 27 per cent increase in motor vehicle collisions;
• 36 percent increase in alarms;
• Mental health calls increased in both months, up 3.5 per hundred year-to-date over 2021;
• Speeding charges up 67 per cent (September) and 55 per cent (October).
A commercial vehicle blitz conducted Oct, 17 in partnership with the Ministry of Transportation and Halton regional police resulted in 28 inspections, 26 offense notices issued and 13 vehicles taken out of service.