Jump in 2024 crime concerning for Kawartha Lakes police chief
‘We’re hoping it’s a bit of an outlier that will change’
Just two months into the year, Kawartha Lakes Police Service has already responded to roughly onefifth of the entire number of incidents from 2023.
Should these numbers continue, there is the potential to exceed last year’s total by roughly 600 incidents.
“I’m a little concerned to see, this early in the year, incidents trending really high,” said Police Chief Mark Mitchell during last week’s board meeting. “What traditionally should be a slower time of the year has been very busy.”
In January and February, police responded to 2,632 incidents versus 2,176 the previous year. Statistics gathered this year so far also show a discernible increase in motor vehicle collisions (79 versus 51), criminal incidents (347 versus 254), drug incidents (32 versus 22) and assaults (43 versus 33).
Incidents relating to thefts under $5,000 and mischief were down; 91 versus 120 and 12 versus 22 respectively.
“Youth charges took a bit of a jump last month,” said Mitchell, noting 10 incidents occurred in February compared to a total of 37 for 2023. “We’re hoping it’s a bit of an outlier that will change moving forward.”
When asked about patterns that may be surfacing regarding the criminal incidents, Mitchell said police continue to see “an inordinate amount” of administration of justice charges being dealt with, such as a failure to appear in court and breaching bail and/or probation conditions.
Mitchell also noted that, while criminal incidents dropped moderately in February compared to January, numbers are considerably higher than the previous year; 158 versus 115.
Although police have not had a physical presence at the Central East Correctional Centre for several years, officers continue to respond to incidents at the facility. Statistics for February show three criminal code violation charges were laid and officers responded to three assault-related occurrences.