The trend of guns, gangs and drug offences is increasing in South Georgian Bay, however a grant from the provincial government has made a difference in how Collingwood OPP are able to fight back.
OPP Det.-Sgt. Caleb Denbok provided a presentation on the Guns and Gangs Community Safety Grant to the Collingwood OPP Police Services Board on Monday afternoon. The Collingwood OPP detachment secured the grant last year through provincial funding, which was approved in late 2020.
“We’re seeing a lot of positive feedback on the front-line,” said Denbok. “Investment in our technology has greatly assisted our investigative techniques.”
Under the province’s Community Safety and Policing Grant, detachments were able to apply for funding under three streams: gun and gang violence, sexual violence/harassment or human trafficking.
“When we sat down with our team here, with what we had been experiencing with gun and drug seizures, we felt we would have a lot of opportunity for success if we went with the guns and gangs (stream),” Collingwood Detachment Commander Insp. Mary Shannon told CollingwoodToday.ca this week.
The application was approved in November 2020. The approval means the province is providing $58,426 for 2020/21 and $94,880 for 2021/22. While the funding was delayed for the first year due to COVID-19, Shannon says the impact is already tangible in the South Georgian Bay community.
The mandate of the unit is to focus on gun and gang violence, as well as drug trafficking. Denbok manages the Street Crime Unit for both Collingwood and Huronia West detachments. Two detective constables work out of the Collingwood offices, and two work out of Huronia West. Resources are shared between the two detachments.
During his presentation, Denbok provided some local statistics.
From Jan. 1 to March 31, 26 occurrences with gun or gang affiliations were investigated through the work of the specialized unit. One of the major investigations is still ongoing. About 170 criminal charges were laid as a result of these investigations, ranging from robberies and weapons possession to drug-trafficking offences. Fourteen arrest warrants were executed. Fifteen search warrants were executed. Nine firearms were seized.
From April 1 to May 31, eight occurrences with gun or gang affiliations were investigated through the unit. A total of 32 criminal charges have been laid. Two search warrants have been executed and three firearms have been seized.
Fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine have been seized as part of some of the investigations.
“This doesn’t capture all the work we were doing as a unit, it’s just specific to the grant,” said Denbok. “These statistics won’t all reflect to the Collingwood detachment... as many times our targets take us out of the community, however they are directly impacting Collingwood.”
While the funding can’t be put toward the hiring of new officers, Shannon says it has been used for equipment purchases to improve officer safety when conducting investigations.
Future funding will be used to prepare educational training on gun safety to be used in schools such as Collingwood Collegiate Institute and Our Lady of the Bay Catholic High School, as well as preparing additional training for officers.
During the meeting, Mayor Brian Saunderson noted there have been a few “high profile” arrests over the past 18 months in Collingwood involving guns, cash and drugs.
“In terms of trending, is this something we can expect to see more of, or is this something that was here and we’re just now getting equipped to handle it?” asked Saunderson.
Denbok said he didn’t see it as a trend that was rapidly growing, rather that it is growing as the population grows in South Georgian Bay.
“There is no shortage of work. We are constantly getting intell(igence) on traffickers. Our proximity to Blue Mountain brings an influx of transitory visitors to these communities,” said Shannon. “Drug trade is very lucrative. Every community is experiencing these issues.”
“Projects that would have likely taken six months, we’re now seeing quicker resolutions in six to eight weeks because we have the ability to bring in these extra officers,” she said.
“By the end of the grant, we’ll have made a real dent in the issue here in Collingwood,” said Shannon.
