Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens wants to put more officers on the ground in the downtown core.
“I think anyone who works downtown can see on a daily basis some of the challenges we’re experiencing as a result of mental health, the opioid and drug addiction issues, and sometimes the intersection of both,” Dilkens said.
The mayor will be asking the Windsor Police Services Board to fund 12 new officers, as part of a "Problem Oriented Policing," or "POP" unit.
The $1.3-million proposal would create a mobile unit, with an initial focus on the downtown core.
“What I don’t want is for people to feel unsafe in their own community and I want to address this as quickly as possible,” he said.
Dilkens tells CTV Windsor property and violent crimes are on the rise downtown and he'd like to see more cops in the area to curb that activity.
“Folks that are addicted that are causing issues, committing petty crime to feed the addiction, we want to stop that,” remarked Dilkens after Monday’s council meeting. “Just because you’re addicted does not give you a license to commit crime.”
Mayor Dilkens says one of the primary functions of the POP unit will be to crack down on drug use in the city and the spin-off crimes caused by addiction.
“If you’re addicted, we want to help. We want to get you the treatment and resources you need to try to curb that addiction,” Dilkens said. “But we can’t let drugs, can’t let addiction take over the neighborhoods.”
“We’re not going to allow that to happen.”
