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Hanover Police Chief Christopher Knoll has presented his annual report to council.
Knoll says in 2019 call volume was up 17 per cent from 2018, which he says is an all-time high for Hanover police.
He says in 2019, compared to 2018, crimes of violence were down 17 per cent.
Meanwhile, the Police Chief says over the past year, “significant quantities of methamphetamine and illegal guns (were) seized.”
Of note, one large seizure occurred recently, on October 19th when over $100,000 worth of meth was seized and two people were arrested after a lengthy drug investigation.
Knoll says three people were hired to fill vacancies, and the police service partnered with community members to create the Eyes and Ears volunteer trail patrol.
Meanwhile, going forward, Knoll highlighted $22,500 in annual Provincial grant money which will go towards a three-year commitment to enhance foot and bike patrol in the downtown, parks and trails ($22,500 annually for three years).
Knoll notes Hanover police are part of a collaboration of Grey Bruce police services using $300,000 in Provincial grant money to combat human trafficking.
On top of that, the service is approved for a $94,500 Provincial grant through Civil Remedies for an automatic licence plate reader and a new cruiser that will scan licence plates for drivers that are unlicenced, suspended or uninsured along with stolen vehicles and wanted persons. (Owen Sound has also been approved for the grant for a licence plate reader, and Saugeen Shores added one to their equipment recently as well).
This funding comes from money that has been seized from individuals and criminal enterprises and forfeited to the provincial government, where it’s reallocated to police services that apply for it.
Knoll also highlights the new Grey Bruce Police – Hospital Transition Protocol, which aims to create an easier transition of care in the case of mental health calls from police custody to hospital custody.
Police And Hospitals Work To Improve Mental Health
He says there is also a new partnership between Hanover Police and the Mental Health Urgent Response team, which will see a mental health worker full-time at the police station who is available to respond to mental heath or similar calls.
Knoll notes municipal Grey-Bruce police services like Hanover, Owen Sound, Saugeen Shores and West Grey are working on a joint annual training program among area police services to save time and money.
He says the police service will also soon have its own website that will eventually allow online reporting of minor and low priority issues.
Also this past year, the Hanover Police Business Plan was developed and approved in 2020 and collective agreements were ratified covering 2018 to 2022.
According to Knoll, year-end expenses increased less than half a per cent in 2019 over 2018 and a year end surplus of $300,000 was transferred to reserve accounts.
Knoll points out, moving forward, some challenges they face include keeping up the level of service they provide as the community grows without significantly increasing staffing levels and budget.
He says another challenge is finding experienced officers to fill part-time Constable positions.
Knoll also expresses concern about people’s perception of police saying in his report, “High profile adverse policing interactions at the international, national and provincial levels has resulted in negativity towards the policing profession,” He adds, “Locally, our members have noticed an increase in poor behaviour and attitudes when interacting with some members of the public.”
Meanwhile, looking ahead, Knoll also says the Police Services Board has committed to returning all surplus funds from the police budget to the Town for 2020 to help with the impacts of COVID-19.
