Windsor's 2023 crime rate on track to exceed last year, police say

In 2023, Windsor police investigated 11 targeted shootings, two homicides from intimate partner violence, and a new program was introduced – pairing officers with nurses on the street to try and veer people away from the emergency room.

“To be fair and to be transparent, I think our crime rate is going to be a little higher than it was last year but still much lower than the trend in prior years,” said Windsor Police Service Chief Jason Bellaire.

With the exception of December, 2023 saw police receive 11,873 property crime reports -- 925 more than the same period last year.

Reports for crimes against people, such as assault and criminal harassment, went up by around 12 per cent.

And for all types of crime the number of reports received in the first 11 months of the year increased from nearly 22,800 in 2022 to more than 25,000.

In an interview with AM800 News, Bellaire said Windsor’s rising population has a lot to do with the rise in the crime rate.

“Our population is not 214,000 or 220,000 people anymore, we're somewhere north of 250,000,” he said. “We have 10,000 international students at any given time and we have continuous and sustained influx of new Canadians.”

Making Windsor one of the fastest growing regions in Canada, as the area gets adjusted to a changing job landscape.

“With that comes some social disorder and possibly crimes,” Bellaire said. “We want to make sure we're right sized as an organization to meet that challenge. We also make sure we are directing our internal resources to where they need to be, which is why our data is so important.”

Looking ahead to the new year, Bellaire said he is excited about working closely with community groups who can collaborate to tackle physical and mental health issues in this region.

He adds far too many of these issues have fallen in the hands of police to address where other, more appropriate social services are required.