WPS Release 2012 Annual Report

Thursday, 14 March 2013 11:17

A busy year for the Woodstock Police Service in 2012. Officers laid 53 percent more charges: 6,291 charges laid compared to 4,105 in 2011. Out of 15, 847 calls in 2012, the Woodstock Police received 844 calls relating to domestic disputes. That's an 8 percent increase in comparison to 2012. Chief of Police Rod Freeman says both the community and police service are acting quicker. "I think it might be a case where people are contacting the Woodstock Police Service sooner and we're able to provide a prompt response, perhaps before an assaultive situation takes place," said Freeman. But the amount of charges laid in 2012 was reduced by 19 percent. Freeman hopes that trend continues in the future. "That one's really a difficult stat to nail down because this is the first year that we've seen that. So we'll see what the trend is in the future, but anytime that we can resolve domestic disturbances we want to see those numbers coming down where we can," said Freeman. A main focus of the Woodstock Police Service in 2012 was addressing the illegal abuse and addiction issues surrounding the drug culture in the city. There were 17.5 percent more charges laid last year. Chief Freeman says that increase is due to the aggressive stance taken by the Drug Investigation Unit. There were 45 percent more accused and held accountable before the courts. The largest increase in drug charges involved abuse of illegal prescription drugs. Criminal driving offences were also up last year. There were 44 incidents: 37 drivers were arrested and charged last year, while 21 were charge in 2011. Chief of the Woodstock Police Service Rod Freeman says the was an increase in impaired driving. "Our Officers on the road have been more actively seeking out impaired drivers. We all know of the dangers connected to impaired driving and our Officers are making a conscious effort to identify impaired drivers, arrest them and hold them accountable before the court," said Freeman, "More people are actually calling in collisions that have some level of impairment involved in them and we're making arrests out of those collisions too, most of them are single vehicle collisions." Additional information describing the activities of the Woodstock Police Service in 2012 can be found on the WPS website; click here for a link to their homepage.