If the latest Barrie police stats are any indication, the world seems to be going back to pre-pandemic days, says Barrie police Deputy Chief Wyllie Allan.
“Things seem to be stabilizing and returning to what we would call normal levels that we’ve seen over the last five years,” Allan said following his presentation on second-quarter statistics to the Barrie Police Services Board on Thursday.
“When the world is opening up, we’re aware there’s more cars, there’s more tourism, there’s more businesses opening and the businesses that are opening are growing in capacity,” he added. “With growth in reopening comes with more calls for service for Barrie police.”
While there was a dip in calls for service during the first half of 2020 with 32,280 calls, the 17,108 and 18,819 calls during the first and second quarter of 2021 respectively for a total of 35,927 calls so far are very close to the 17,238 and 18,489 calls for the quarters respectively or 35,727 received in the first half 2019. The first half of that intervening year in 2020 is when the pandemic was declared and widespread shutdowns.
The numbers show a dramatic change in provincial offences like traffic violations. There were 3,865 and 3,232 notices issued during the first and second quarters of 2021. That is a significant jump over the 2,525 and 854 notices issued during the same periods in 2020.
Although Allan told police board members there has been an improved deployment model allowing for more of a focus on areas of traffic concerns, which could be reflected in those numbers.
The realignment of the Barrie police traffic strategy means officers can more readily get a handle on problems in the city.
“We have set up a network with all city councillors who hear from their constituents about problems in their areas,” explained Allan.
The formalized process allows members of council to reach out to the city’s traffic sergeant about concerts that have been expressed to them. The police can then respond and officers follow through with the officers about any action taken.
That’s in addition to the complaints made directly to the force.
It also allows an increased focus on intersections where collisions frequently occur, added Allan.
Mayor Jeff Lehman, a member of the police services board, indicated during the meeting that noisy mufflers was a major source of complaint from constituents.
Coun. Robert Thomson, also a board member, was supportive of the collaborative approach to open doors to “the silent majority.
“The more feedback we get, the more effective,” he said during the meeting.
Some areas continue to show lower rates than previous years or a slow climb back to previous levels.
The 1,189 calls for property crimes for the first half of this year are well below the 1,421 last year during the same period and 1,902 in 2019.
The first half of 2021 saw 686 crimes against persons, up slightly over the 681 during the same period last year, but still below the 761 in 2019.
Meanwhile, this year’s 245 drug offences for the first six months are much higher than the 187 last year and 141 calls in 2019.
