GREENSTONE — OPP Sgt. Eric Stewart presented to Greenstone’s municipal council an overview of the detachment’s first-quarter crime occurrences in the community.
It should be noted that the recorded statics which was presented to council are the number of arrests made by OPP in the first quarter of 2023, compared to the last quarter of 2022.
Any cases not reflected in the report are considered ongoing investigation, because of this reason, the report states that it "is not to be used for crime trend analysis.” As investigations wrap up and crimes are solved, these numbers will change.
However, what the report does do is provide an overview to council of the work being done by OPP in the community.
Violent Crimes
Stewart reports that 34 violent crimes have been committed during the first quarter. In the last quarter, there were 29.
Sexual assault has increased from four to seven in 2023, but some of those cases are considered historical, according to Stewart, which means some of the sexual assault cases happened in previous years, but charges were not laid until 2023.
Stewart suggests there is a mental image related to the word robbery, but clarifies by stating that a “robbery is a thief with violence,” said Stewart.
Stewart uses the example of a person taking someone’s backpack through physical violence would be considered a robbery.
These distinctions are important one is thinking about the differences between crimes where theft is involved.
Property crimes, for instance, are categorized with a dollar value of either over or under $5,000. The total number of property crimes has stayed the same at 64 occurrences.
Other crimes against a person occur when individuals report they are receiving threats. Stewart points out that these statics can be compounded.
Drug Crime
The report states there are two occurrences of possession and trafficking charges reported down from seven possession charges and six trafficking charges.
“Spoiler alert — you are going to see those numbers significantly changes,” said Stewart.
Coun. Elaine Mannisto asked if the drug trade in Greenstone is being perpetrated by locals or if the drug traffickers are infiltrating the municipality from southern Ontario.
“There is no easy, quick answer to that,” said Stewart. “I will tell you the drugs that are being sold and consumed are not really being produced here. There are six degrees of separation between the large city centres, and international aspects to it as well, but they find a market here and they’re sold here. It would not be uncommon for us to arrest and charge people who are not from this area, but they are tied in with people who are from this area.”
Stewart said the drug trade has a "local flavour to it, but also a big city flavour,” naming cities like Winnipeg, Ottawa, and Toronto as places drugs are trafficked into Greenstone.
Coun. Alan Ouellet comments that his experience with speaking with OPP officers in his community that the biggest advice he has received is to report it.
“Complaining on Facebook does not change things. There are hard-working people at the OPP here and if you report it, it’s a lot easier when you have some reports and not just rumour on the street,” said Ouellet.
Stewart added to Ouellet advice by stating that the public should not wait. Report it right away. The soon the OPP can get to the occurrence the sooner it can be stopped.
Coun. Chris Walterson points out that most of the problems with drugs are more powerful illicit drugs. However, he asks if legal drugs such as cannabis contributing to the problems.
“We do see the negatives associated with hard drug use. Those come with the Narcan, the overdose, the calls for emergency services, and the violence. I have my own opinion on the consumption of cannabis. However, we see far more violence, far more property crime, with the consumption of hard drugs,” said Stewart
Stewart notes that fentanyl is everywhere and it’s dangerous.
Mannisto praises the OPP for their hard work and dedication, but also asks if the detachment is close to having a full complement of officers.
“The short answer is we are nowhere close to having a full complement. We really do well with what we have. Although I am biased, I will say for the small number of officers that we have they really are committed to the Greenstone community.
Stewart explains that there are a lot of challenges in terms of staffing. Currently, the Greenstone detachment is short seven officers, according to Stewart.
“We are still getting things done. Everybody is taking on a little bit more. We expect a lot from our officers and they rise to the challenge. I don’t think that safety is comprised in that regard, but when we do get additional officers, we’ll see the benefits of that.”
