St. Thomas Police Services
2010 Annual Report
Mission Statement:
To optimize public safety in
the City of St. Thomas
www.stps.on.ca
2 STPS Annual Report 2010
Table of Contents
GOVERNANCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY
Mission Statement
Governance and Accountability
“TO OPTIMIZE PUBLIC SAFETY IN
THE CITY OF ST. THOMAS”
Mission Statement ..............................................................................2
Objectives ............................................................................................2
St. Thomas Police Services Board ......................................................3
Operating Budget ...............................................................................3
Capital Budget ....................................................................................3
A Message from the Chief of Police ...................................................4
The Police Service, in concert with
other agencies and the citizens of
St. Thomas, is instrumental in preserving the quality of life in our community
by maintaining St. Thomas as a secure
place in which to live and prosper.
Our Most Valuable Resource - Our Members
Uniform Division ................................................................................4
Civilian Division .................................................................................5
Police Chaplain: Reverend Roger Landell.........................................5
Police Services Recognition Dinner ..................................................5
New Hires ............................................................................................5
Promotions .........................................................................................5
Police Exemplary Service Medals – 20 Years of Service ...................6
Rosemary Bartlett – 40 Years of Service ............................................7
Bonnie Dumoulin and Shelley Page – 25 Years of Service ...............7
Formal and In-Service Training ..................................................... 8-9
Video Training .....................................................................................9
Freedom of Information ....................................................................9
In doing so, we are dedicated philosophically and operationally to the
concept of preventative policing. Our
primary focus is on crime prevention,
crime detection and apprehension, and
traffic safety. Our most effective tools
are positive community relations, education and the use of current technology to analyze conditions, trends and
the deployment of resources.
Objectives of the St. Thomas
Police Service 2010 - 2012
Keeping our Streets Safe
Traffic Projects ..................................................................................10
R.I.D.E. Program ......................................................................... 10-11
Drinking and Driving Offences .......................................................11
New STPS Traffic Unit ......................................................................11
Keeping our Community and Schools Safe
Crime Prevention Officer .................................................................12
Community Resource Officer .................................................... 12-13
Community Services Officer............................................................13
Adopt-A-School Program .................................................................13
Demands on Services
Crime Statistics .................................................................................14
Professional Standards Branch.................................................. 14-15
Police Pursuits ..................................................................................15
Court Services ...................................................................................16
Property Management .....................................................................17
Use of Force Options Utilized in the Field ................................ 17-19
Special Investigations Team
Criminal Investigations Branch.......................................................19
Major Case Management .................................................................20
Ontario Sex Offender Registry .........................................................20
ViCLAS – Violent Crime Linkage Analysis System .........................20
Drug Enforcement ............................................................................20
Domestic Violence............................................................................21
Intelligence Unit ...............................................................................21
Forensic Identification Services Unit ..............................................21
Crime Stoppers .................................................................................22
■ “To increase the community's participation in helping to prevent and
solve crimes”
■ “To effectively respond to identified
community crime and disorder
problems”
■ “To ensure that St. Thomas is a safe
Community in which to live and work”
■ “Engage youth in meaningful dialogue and mentorship”
■ “Demonstrating compassion and
respect for those in need”
■ “To promote and ensure excellence
in criminal investigation services”
■ “To ensure the men and women of
the St. Thomas Police Service have
access to the best Information Technology possible which will ensure their,
and ultimately the Communities, safety
and security”
■ “To ensure the men and women of
the St. Thomas Police Service have a
suitable working environment and
access to information which will enable
them to adequately and effectively
deliver services to the residents of the
City of St. Thomas”
GOVERNANCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY
STPS Annual Report 2010
3
St. Thomas Police Services
Board - Governance
The Ontario Police Services Act dictates that every municipality through
its Police Services Board is responsible
to provide adequate and effective
police services to its community.
The St. Thomas Police Services Board
is a civilian oversight body that governs
how police services are provided to our
community. The Board is comprised of
two elected members from City Council, two Provincially appointed members and one community representative appointed by City Council.
The St. Thomas Police Services Board
experienced some changes in 2010 as
Board Chair Carole Watson’s tenure
came to an end in May. Vice Chairman
Don Cann was promoted to the position of Chairman and Mayor Cliff Barwick was appointed as Vice Chairman
for the remainder of the year. In June,
Gillian Martin was appointed as the
Provincial representative replacing
Carole Watson. After the November
municipal election, Bill Aarts was
replaced by Alderman David Warden
and Cliff Barwick was replaced by our
newly elected Mayor, Heather JacksonChapman. Dean Paddon continued to
serve as the second Provincial representative on our Board.
The Board meets regularly with the
Chief of Police and the Deputy Chief of
Police to ensure the delivery of adequate and effective police services in
the areas of crime prevention, law
enforcement, assistance to victims,
public order maintenance, emergency
response and police budgets. Chief Bill
Lynch is responsible for the operations
of the Police Ser vice and w ith his
Administration - Deputy Chief Darryl
Pinnell, Inspector Jeff Driedger, Inspector Mark Traichevich, Administrator
Lynn Coates, and senior staff, are committed to providing policing excellence
to our community.
Throughout 2010, the Board
a d d re s s e d a v a r i e t y o f i s s u e s a n d
approved the operating and capital
budgets; the 2010-2012 Business Plan;
a new policy regarding Paid Duties; the
purchase of three marked police cruisers ; the hiring of two cadets to fill
vacant positions; the secondment of
Constable Reagan Wells to the Ontario
Police College; and completed contract
negotiations and the subsequent arbitration of the Uniform and Civilian Collective agreements. The Board also
2010 St. Thomas Police Services Board, front row from left, Mayor Heather Jackson
Chapman, Chairman David Warden, Vice Chairman Don Cann, back row from left,
Gillian Martin, Dean Paddon, Lynn Coates, Board Secretary
approved the participation of two
members to serve in the national security team at the 2010 Winter Olympic
Games. Constables Marc Vaughan and
Frank Boyes represented the St. Thomas Police Service during the Olympics, assigned to security forces in Vancouver and Whistler respectively.
The Board also approved the participation of six St. Thomas officers to
serve with the Integrated Security unit
at the G20 Summit hosted by Prime
Minister Stephen Harper in Toronto in
June 2010. This event hosted representatives from the G20 major economies,
leaders of six invited nations and eight
additional intergovernmental organizations and resulted in the largest and
most expensive security operation in
Canadian history.
The St. Thomas Police Services Board
continues its pursuit of excellence with
an emphasis on strong accountability
mechanisms and best practices in governance, policies and procedures,
meeting its provincially legislated
responsibilities in ensuring the delivery
of adequate and effective police services in the City of St. Thomas. Police
Services Boards are the primary governor of police services and are provided
specific legislated powers enabling
them to fulfil their role as an instrument of public oversight of the police.
Civilian governance ensures the highest degree possible that the police
remain sufficiently independent in
their responsibility for operational matters, while being suitably accountable
to representative civilian authorities.
Police Operating Budget 2010*
Revenue ..............................$633,665
Salaries and Benefits .........$8,231,076
OMERS ...............................$664,808
Training ..............................$40,000
Public Education................$10,000
Overtime .............................$90,000
Vehicle Operations ............$195,000
Total Budget..................... $8,979,464
* these numbers do not
include all budget figures.
Capital Budget
City Council approved $30,000 to
update and enhance the Police
headquarters security monitoring
system.
4 STPS Annual Report 2010
GOVERNANCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY
A Message from the Chief of Police
O n behalf of all members of the
St. Thomas Police Service, I am pleased
to present our 2010 Annual Report.
In 2010, we put into action our 2010 –
2012 Business Plan that includes the
directions that form the foundation
upon which the future of our Service is
built. Our members, in partnership with
our community, identified through community and internal surveys, the priorities, objectives and direction of policing
in St. Thomas for the next three years.
■ To ensure that St. Thomas is a safe
Community in which to live and work
■ To increase the community's participation in helping to prevent and solve
crimes
■ To effectively respond to identified
community crime and disorder
problems
■ Engage youth in meaningful dialogue and mentorship
■ D e m o n s t rat e c o m p a s s i o n a n d
respect for those in need
■ To promote and ensure excellence
in criminal investigation services
■ To ensure the men and women of
the St. Thomas Police Service have
access to the best Information
Technology possible which will ensure
their and ultimately the community’s
safety and security
■ To ensure the men and women of
the St. Thomas Police Service have a
suitable working environment and
access to information which will enable
them to adequately and effectively
deliver services to the residents of the
City of St. Thomas
With the continued support of the
Police Services Board, City Council and
the Community, the men and women of
the Police Service will continue to meet
the needs and expectations of the citizens of St. Thomas. Our community is
enriched by the outstanding sworn and
civilian staff whose dedication, professionalism and commitment enhance the
progress of our organization to meet
each and every challenge with courage
and compassion.
B. Lynch
Chief of Police
Chief of Police Bill Lynch
OUR MOST VALUABLE RESOURCE - OUR MEMBERS
Uniform Division
The most important factor of our service
delivery to the community lies with the
front line officer. It is the front line officer
that provides a visible police presence in
the schools, downtown core, shopping
malls, parks, playgrounds and in each
neighbourhood. They are the first responders to all emergencies as well as the personal touch of the Service responding to
the non-emergency calls for service.
The St. Thomas Police Service provides
community patrol utilizing marked and
unmarked police cruisers, old clothes
assignments of beat, bicycle and cruiser
patrols, as well as uniformed foot and bicycle patrols. Through observation and
enforcement, officers implement patrol
strategies based on crime and calls analysis, crime trends and intelligence information to address issues in the community.
The Uniform Division is equipped with
mobile data terminals in their vehicles providing a direct link to vital information.
Officers have the ability to access information via CPIC directly from the in-car computers without relaying information over
Constable Mike Kaiser utilizing mobile data terminals in his work.
the police communications systems. Furthermore, a digital mug shot system provides officers with the ability to view photographs at their desktop computers or in
the mobile environment, providing a visual
confirmation of identity. Technology continues to enhance the capabilities of our
front line officers
OUR MOST VALUABLE RESOURCE - OUR MEMBERS
Civilian Division
Members of the Civilian division including the Systems Administrator (IT), Police
Communicators, Clerks, Special Constables
and Police Cadets perform a variety of tasks
in support of the front line officers.
Our Police Service is reliant on the efficiencies of computer technology and the
ever-changing applications of new technology improve the way in which the tasks of
our members are performed in the delivery
of the most effective policing services. Our
Systems Administrator, Rick Busch, maintains our current systems, provides daily
technical support, plans for future upgrades,
and recommends and implements
approved changes to our technology and
communications systems.
Police Communicators are the initial call
takers who assess the needs of callers and
dispatch the necessary officers and support
agencies to respond appropriately to emergency situations. Our clerical staff are
responsible for a wide range of clerical
duties from front reception, data entry of all
police reports, transcription, record management, CPIC entry and validation, Freedom of Information requests, statistical
Our Police Chaplain –
Reverend Roger Landell
No one is confronted with more situations that demoralize and create emotional, mental and spiritual burdens than
today’s law enforcement officer. These
burdens also affect the officer’s family and
other members of the Police Service. Law
enforcement agencies need the specialized guidance, counselling and assistance
for their officers, families and
communities.
A law enforcement Chaplain is a clergyperson with special interest and training
for providing pastoral care in the dangerous world of law enforcement. This pastoral care is offered to all people regardless
STPS Recognition Dinner
On Wednesday, April 12, 2011, the STPS
Board hosted the 8th Annual Police Recognition dinner honouring those members who
achieved milestones in 2010. The following
members have served the citizens of St. Thomas as a member of the St. Thomas Police
Service for:
Forty Years
Rosemary Bartlett, Clerk
Thirty Years
Constable John Burgess
Twenty-Five Years
Bonnie Dumoulin, Communicator
Shelley Page, Communicator
STPS Annual Report 2010
5
Communicator Bonnie Dumoulin monitoring calls in the communications centre.
compilation and relief communication and
dispatch, to name a few. Special Constables
provide security in courtrooms and court
facilities; manage persons being held in custody and escort prisoners to and from courts
from our holding cells and other prison
facilities throughout the province. Special
Constable, Lisa Johnson, is responsible for
the management of all property that comes
into the possession of the Police Service.
of race, gender, creed, religion, or sexual
orientation. The law enforcement chaplain is available and ready to serve those
in need and provides a source of strength
to the law enforcement staff and their
families as well as the community.
The St. Thomas Police Service is fortunate to have Reverend Roger Landell serving as our Police Chaplain. Reverend Landell, a former Toronto Police officer,
understands the demands of policing and
volunteers his time and efforts to support
our members and their families, always
offering a confidential, listening ear. He
participates in the workplace of law
enforcement with empathy and experience, advising calmly in the midst of turmoil and danger, offering assistance when
Twenty Years
Sergeant Brian Carnegie
Constable Garry Christiansen
Constable Dan Ainsworth
Constable Cam Arnott
Ten Years
Cheryl Landriault, Communicator
Constable Lisa Keane
Constable Steven Cudney
Five Years
Constable Chris Bailey
Chief’s Commendation
Constable Kyle Johnstone
Apartment fire and Evacuation
Police Cadets are our newest recruits who
are hired to participate in the cadet program
that will serve as an initial training ground
for their future career as Police officers. After
a period of time as a police cadet and when
vacancies arise, police cadets are sent to the
Ontario Police College to complete the Basic
Constable training program and then return
to our Ser vice to be sworn in as a
Constable.
Reverend Roger Landell
appropriate or requested. His enthusiasm,
positive personality and unwavering support of Police Service and its members is
priceless.
New Hires in 2010
Amanda Preece................................. Cadet
Helaine Hindley ................................ Cadet
Promotions in 2010
Justin Benwell .............1st Class Constable
Scott Hindley...............1st Class Constable
Frank Boyes.................1st Class Constable
Michael Kaiser ............2nd Class Constable
Kyle Johnstone ............2nd Class Constable
Darcy Bell ....................2nd Class Constable
Aaron Fraser................2nd Class Constable
Matt Lobsinger ............2nd Class Constable
Jacob Fischer ...............3rd Class Constable
6 STPS Annual Report 2010
OUR MOST VALUABLE RESOURCE - OUR MEMBERS
Police Exemplary Service
Medals - 20 Years of Service
The Police Exemplary Service Medal was
created on August 12, 1983, to recognize
police officers that have served in an exemplary manner, exhibiting good conduct,
industry and efficiency. They must have
completed twenty years of such service
with one or more recognized Canadian
police forces.
The Police Exemplary Service Medal is
part of the Canadian Honours System
established in 1967.
Canadian Police Exemplary
Service Awards recognizing
twenty years of service were
presented to Sergeant Brian
Carnegie, Constable Dan
Ainsworth, Constable Jeff Pallister and Constable Cam
Arnott in 2010.
of commendation or thanks throughout his
career as well as a Governor General’s certificate, a St. John’s Ambulance Award and
Chief’s Commendations for the Chestnut
Street Apartment Fire in 2001; the Manx
Arm’s homicide in 2006 and a high profile
child pornography investigation also in
2006.
Constable Cam Arnott
Constable Cam Arnott joined the
St. Thomas Police Service July 30th. 1990.
Cam spent the first 8 months of his career as
a Cadet and was promoted to the rank of
Constable in March of 1991. Cam has spent
the majority of his career in Uniformed
Patrol. Cam has had a number of additional
responsibilities during his career including
being a breathalyzer and intoxilyzer technician from 1997 to 2010. In 2004, Cam was
selected to be the full-time Intelligence
officer where he worked very closely with
the Criminal Investigations Branch and
Drug Unit. Cam became very competent in
mobile surveillance. Cam remained in the
Intelligence office until 2007 and was then
reassigned to patrol duties.
Constable Dan Ainsworth
Constable Dan Ainsworth joined the
St. Thomas Police Service May 28, 1990.
Dan spent the first seven months of his
career as a Cadet and was promoted to the
rank of Constable in December 1990. Dan
has spent the majority of his career in Uniformed Patrol. Dan has had a number of
additional responsibilities during his career
including being a breathalyzer and intoxilyzer technician from 1996 to 2009, as well
as a Coach Officer and a Scenes of Crime
officer since 1998. In 2002, Dan began specialized training in accident investigations
and reconstructions. Since that time, Dan
has been involved in the investigation of
most, if not all of the serious or fatal motor
vehicle collisions in St. Thomas. Dan reconstructing accidents and prepares evidence
for court. Dan is also the President of the St.
Thomas Police Association and has held
that post for a number of years. Dan is a
member of the Occupational Health and
Safety Committee for the Police Service.
Dan has four commendations in his file and
fifteen complimentary letters.
Sergeant Brian Carnegie
Sergeant Brian Carnegie began his
policing career with the St. Thomas Police
Service on January 3, 1990. Brain spent the
first few years as a general patrol officer, and
in 1992, Brian qualified as a breath technician. In 1994, Brian was assigned to the
Criminal Investigations Branch for the next
5 years where he established a reputation as
an extremely competent criminal investigator, investigating several high-profile and
complex cases. In 1998, Brian was promoted
to the rank of Sergeant, serving as a road
Supervisor for A Platoon and has remained
for the past 10+ years. Brian prides himself
on leading, coaching, and mentoring his
staff. Brian has been recognized by 18 letters
Constable Jeff Pallister
Constable Jeff Pallister began his policing career with the Guelph Police Service in
July 1990. While in Guelph, Jeff received a
number of specialty Courses such as Scenes
of Crime Officer, Intoxilyzer Operator, Crisis
Negotiators Course, Coach Officer Course,
and Basic Tactical Officers Course to name
a few. Jeff was a member of their Uniform
Branch as well as the Tactical and Rescue
Unit. In June 2001, Jeff returned home to
St. Thomas and began his tenure with the
St. Thomas Police Service. Jeff spent the first
six months in Uniform Patrol before becoming our first full time Community Resource
Officer (High School officer) where he
served from 2002 - 2005. Constable Pallister
has taken a number of School Officer
related courses and he was instrumental in
crafting this position into the vital role it fulfils today in our High Schools. In 2004, Jeff
qualified as a Use of Force instructor and
assists with annual Use of Force qualifications for our officers. In 2005, Jeff was
assigned to the Criminal Investigations
Branch and completed many Criminal
Investigation courses including Sexual
Assault Investigations, Interviewing and
interrogation, Homicide, Major Case Management, to name a few. Jeff has been
involved in almost every major criminal
investigation the Service has experienced
since 2005 including multiple homicide
investigations. Jeff is well known for his
superior interviewing skills and his incredible knack for connecting with people from
all walks of life. Jeff is an excellent investigator and respected member of the Unit, our
Police Service and profession.
OUR MOST VALUABLE RESOURCE - OUR MEMBERS
Rosemary Bartlett - 40 Years of Service
Rosemary Bartlett
Rosemary Bartlett began her career
with the St. Thomas Police Service on
June 16, 1970, just after graduating from
Arthur Voaden Secondary School. On
June 16, 2010, Rosemary completed 40
years of service as a Clerk in the court
office, making her the second longest
serving member of the Police Service,
second only to Pat O’Sullivan who
served for 47 years. Rosemary indicated
that she did not intend to beat Pat’s
record and retired from the Police Service on December 31, 2010.
Rosemary’s primary duty and responsibility is the maintenance of the CPIC
(Canadian Police Information Computer) computer system. For years, Rosemary was the only person working on
the CPIC system. She established the
foundation for CPIC with our Service
and today, Rosemary is the master of the
CPIC system. She took great pride in the
accuracy and completeness of the information our Service has on this national
data base. The success of our regular
CPIC audits by the Ministry is a reflection of her dedication to ensure the
integrity of the information our Service
adds, modifies or deletes from CPIC.
Rose has been a mentor for many of her
colleagues. Rose has trained cadets on
STPS Annual Report 2010
7
CPIC prior to their attendance at the
Police College; she has trained communicators on the most effective use of
CPIC so that they can retrieve relevant
information for the front line officers on
the street and she has provided the basic
training to all the other clerical staff on
the use of CPIC prior to their attendance
at the Ontario Police College for formal
training.
Rosemary has been an active member
of the St. Thomas Police Association and
served for many years on the Executive
as their Treasurer. She was certainly the
overseer of Association funds and it goes
without saying, that there was never any
discrepancy in the Association
accounting.
Rosemary is a very capable individual
who has demonstrated her loyalty to the
St. Thomas Police Service. Having served
the Police Service and the citizens of St.
Thomas for 40 years, she is most deserving of retirement and the organization
certainly lost an exceptional employee
with a wealth of experience and skill.
Bonnie Dumoulin and Shelley Page - 25 Years of Service
Bonnie Dumoulin began her career
with the Civilian Division of the St.
Thomas Police Service on June 24, 1985
as a Police Communicator and is currently assigned to B Platoon.
Shelley Page began her career with
the Civilian Division of the St. Thomas
Police Service on June 15, 1985 as a
Police Communicator and is currently
assigned to D Platoon.
Over the years, Shelley and Bonnie
have both received all of the training
Bonnie Dumoulin
courses available at the Ontario Police
College for Police Communicators and
they have also participated in various
seminars in relation to domestic violence and suicide intervention as well
as the annual Police Communicators
conference.
Police Communicators are the lifeline for our front line officers answering calls for service.
The Police Communicator is the
most vital communication link between
the members of the public requiring
assistance and the police personnel
that provide the assistance needed. As
Police Communicators, Shelley and
Bonnie are responsible for answering
and prioritizing all non-emergency and
emergency calls for service including
911 calls. They assess the situation,
determine the needs and dispatch the
appropriate personnel, all while maintaining contact with the caller to obtain
the relevant information to most effectively address the emergency. Safety is
a priority. They ensure the safety of our
officers on the street; monitor the cells
at police headquarters, ensuring the
safety of the prisoners ; record the
details of incidents in the computer
system and contact other agencies such
as fire, ambulance or towing compa-
Shelley Page
nies to assist as needed.
Police Communicators have a very
difficult job – they are the first contact
when a crisis occurs; they deal with a
variety of callers from very calm to hysterical individuals and they are the professionals that ensure the calls are
answered with the appropriate personnel and level of response required to
address the emergency. Bonnie
Dumoulin and Shelley Page are welltrained, skilled police communicators
who have served the community for the
last 25 years with genuine concern and
compassion.
8 STPS Annual Report 2010
OUR MOST VALUABLE RESOURCE - OUR MEMBERS
Formal and In-Service Training
By Inspector Mark Traichevich
Constable Cam Constable on beat patrol
in downtown core.
Every year, formal and in-service training,
professional development seminars and conferences play a significant role in developing
members of the St. Thomas Police Service.
Constable James Fast was reassigned from
uniform general patrol duties to that of a full
time Forensic Identification Officer (FIO) in
2009. Upon successful completion of the
training, he replaced Constable Terri Hikele
who had completed a very successful tenure
as a full time Identification officer. The
St. Thomas Police Service now has three fully
trained Forensic Identification Officers ( two
of which serve on a part time basis) whose
talents, training and expertise can be drawn
upon to investigate, gather and process evidence and assist Criminal Investigations in
major crime scenarios. Constables Marc
Vaughan and Terri Hikele studied their discipline for an extended period of time in 2010
and successfully completed the new Provincial Forensic Identification Officer re-certification examinations. Both remain qualified
in this discipline for an additional three
years.
Constable Matt Lobsinger (Currently
assigned to general patrol duties) completed
formal training in 2010 qualifying him as a
Level Two Collision reconstruction technician. Our Service currently has three officers
trained and capable of reconstructing motor
vehicle collisions resulting in fatalities. Constable Greg Bryant is trained to Level Three
and Constable Dan Ainsworth is currently
trained to Level Four. These officers work in
conjunction with general patrol officers,
Forensic Identification and the Criminal
Investigation teams.
A myriad of other formal training courses
were completed throughout 2010. They
include, but are not limited to the following
disciplines: Fraud investigations, search warrant training, advanced patrol training, critical incident command; basic crisis negotiator
and crisis negotiator maintenance training.
Other training included drug investigations,
major case management, media relations,
and domestic violence coordinator training
in threat assessment and case management;
Internet investigations, investigating offences
against children and a number of criminal
investigators attended an Ontario Homicide
Investigators seminar dealing with the laws of
interrogation.
New service pistols, the Smith & Wesson
M&P semi-automatic specifically designed
for military and police purposes were purchased in 2009. All sworn members underwent transitional pistol training during their
annual Use of Force in-service training dates
Service plans to transition over to the new
Intoxilyzer 8000C instrument in 2011 and
plans are in place to host a transition course
here in St. Thomas not only for our members
but for other officers within the Province.
All members were re-certified in First Aid
and CPR for Emergency Service Front Line
Officers during the fall session of in-service
Block Training. At the same time, all members were trained on the Ontarians with Disabilities Act legislation. A number of members also attended various one and two day
seminars across the province learning about
a number of topics including but not limited
to:
■ Mental Health and Addictions in Youth
■ Student Drug Use
■ Building Community Partnerships and
Healthy Schools
■ Community Threat Assessment and
Response Training
■ Applied Suicide Intervention Skills
Training
■ Domestic Violence Investigations
■ Shooting Scene Examinations Training
■ Freedom of Information and the Protection of Privacy legislation seminar training
■ Alcohol and Gaming workshops
■ Death Investigations
■ Various leadership training seminars
■ Special Investigations Unit workshops
along with various emerging Legal Issues
seminars
■ Major Events Security training (Constables Marc Vaughan and Frank Boyes were
deployed to the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver and Whistler B.C assisting with the
security of the games).
In totality for 2010, formal training courses
amounted to 249 full training days for a
number of sworn and civilian members who
received new and upgrade training in various
disciplines. All uniformed members underwent mandated Use of Force training and requalifications during the spring sessions of
in-service Block Training and civilian members were included in the fall sessions of
Block Training as well.
The St. Thomas Police Service took advantage of various formal training courses
offered predominantly through the Ontario
Police College. Other training courses were
obtained in cooperation with a number of
police agencies like the Toronto, London,
Sarnia, Windsor, Durham and Peel Regional
Police Services as well as Middlesex O.P.P.
and seminars through the Ontario and Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police and the
in the spring of 2009. That training commenced on April 1st and was completed by
May 25th, 2009. All officers re-certified on the
M&P service pistol as well as the Remington
shotgun during annual Use of Force re-qualification training in 2010. This training
included Provincially-mandated firearms
training and annual re-qualifications on both
the service pistol and refresher training and
re-qualifications with the departmental shot
guns. Furthermore, re-qualifications were
successfully completed in other Use of Force
options in defensive tactics which include
open and closed hand techniques, ASP
baton, Oleoresin Capsicum (O/C pepper)
spray, tactical communications, handcuffing,
arrest procedures and search and seizure
techniques. All Sergeants and Staff Sergeants
also completed annual re-qualification in the
use and handling of the Taser X26 - a Conducted Energy Weapon. Constable Darren
Congdon was certified in 2010 as a Taser X26
trainer and Constable Geoff Gosse was recertified in this discipline. For the firearms
training portion of Use of Force training, a
partnership with the East Elgin Sportsman’s
Association was secured again in 2010 for the
use of their firearms range facilities. Many
favourable comments were received from
our members with respect to the opportunity
to utilize this state of the art range facility.
Two new Intoxilyzer 5000C technicians
were trained in 2010 - Constables Chad Nevill and Kyle Johnstone. Their qualifications
and services will augment other technicians
and bring the St. Thomas Police Service to a
total of thirteen (13) qualified technicians for
the purpose of obtaining breath samples
from persons arrested and suspected of
impaired driving. The St. Thomas Police
OUR MOST VALUABLE RESOURCE - OUR MEMBERS
The advantage of E-learning is that it can
Formal and In-Service Training
reach a wider audience for substantially less
Continued
Police Association of Ontario. A number of
municipalities hosted short duration day or
half day seminars on various topics and our
members received training from Mississauga,
London, Oshawa, Brampton and St. Thomas
private sector service and training suppliers.
A new forum for training was explored in
2009 namely web based E-learning offered
through the Canadian Police Knowledge
Network (CPKN). This is E-learning for self
improvement and professional development
where the learner studies on-line at their own
pace. Many of the courses are developed in
partnership with the Ontario Police College
and upon successful completion a certificate
is awarded by the College. This type of training continued in 2010 and several members
took advantage of the opportunity to hone
their investigative skills and enhance their
knowledge base.
Video Training
By Staff Sergeant Hank Zehr
The Ontario Police Video Training Alliance (OPVTA) was formed in 1996, as a
non-profit, member-led cooperative comprised of approximately 90 member agencies. The agencies include most Police
Services in Ontario as well as military, transit, and campus Police Services. OPVTA is
partnered with the Advanced Patrol Training Section of the Ontario Police College
and provide training videos to an audience
of over 24,000 officers. More information
about OPVTA can be found at www.opvta.
com.
Moving away from producing DVD formatted videos, OPVTA has created a web
based site with access to most of their
Freedom Of Information
By Staff Sergeant Hank Zehr
In 2010, the St. Thomas Police Service
answered 110 (FOI) Freedom of Information requests, up from the 100 requests in
2009.
When someone is looking for specific
information from a Police Service, it may
be necessary to make a request for documents under the Municipal Freedom of
Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
A Freedom of Information (FOI) request
form must be filled out and a $5.00 processing fee must be paid.
The process can take 30 days or longer to
complete depending on what documentation is requested. The processing fees are
in training dollars and time away from the
organization. Members can work at their
own pace and tap into the lesson plans and
course content years after the fact as a means
of self generated refresher training. An
increased application of E-learning will be
implemented throughout 2011. Our service
also continues its partnership with the
Ontario Police Video Training Alliance
(OPVTA) who produces and distributes several short segment police-related training
videos each year. The OPVTA and CPKN
combined their respective resources in 2010
which will allow our members to log in with
CPKN and link to all training videos that are
on file with OPVTA. This is a win win situation not only for our service members but for
all police agencies in Ontario.
In-Service Trainers for 2010
The training team for 2010 included Constables Jeff Pallister, Geoff Gosse, Reagan
archived videos and all new productions
are available through this venue. This
allows officers to view training videos at
times most convenient to the demands of
the police service and from any computer.
St. Thomas Police Service actively
attends the bi-annual OPVTA meetings at
the Ontario Police College and has input
on future video productions. The topics are
chosen based on members input and suggestions on relevant issues facing police
services. The production is a joint effort
between subject experts and the OPVTA
Board of Directors.
We currently have hundreds of training
videos in our library that serve as an excellent resource for experienced officers as
well as for new cadets joining the St. Thomas Police Service.
based on whether a request is considered a
“general” or a “personal” request. Requesters are only entitled to general information
in regards to the police service or information only directly related to them. If the
information requested consists of someone else’s personal information, the police
service must obtain that persons consent
to release their information. This process
is called “third party request”. A third party
requests normally take longer to process
in order to obtain their consent.
For more information, please visit our
website at www.stps.on.ca or the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection
of Privacy Act at www.e-laws.gov.on.ca
Our Service is committed to ensuring the
protection of the information we are
STPS Annual Report 2010
9
Wells, Travis Sandham and Darren Congdon
for firearms training and use of force options.
Various members of Criminal Investigations,
along with NCO’s in the uniform branch and
the Drug Enforcement Unit shared their
knowledge to update members about current and past investigations as well as new
legislation. A number of seasoned police
“Coach Officers” have been active throughout the year in developing and mentoring
new recruits/Police Cadets. Their efforts have
also been augmented by the Civilian Radio
Operators who have been instrumental in
cross-training all Cadets and Data Entry personnel to perform radio dispatch and communications duties.
The St. Thomas Police Service continues to
put a great deal of emphasis on formal, inservice and refresher training in many police
related disciplines. The end product is a
highly trained, professional work force, dedicated to serving and protecting the community in which we all live, learn and grow.
2010 saw the partnership solidify with
the Canadian Police Knowledge Network
(CPKN) which will allow for an expansion
of their on-line police training. Members
of OPVTA are afforded free training opportunities through CPKN. This partnership
will facilitate on-line learning and viewing
of videos electronically as well as highlighting learning objectives and providing
measures to ensure those objectives have
been met. This partnership with CPKN is a
tremendous step forward in e-training for
all of our officers.
Staff Sergeant Hank Zehr
entrusted with. As members of the Freedom of Information Police Network, our
representatives attend annual conferences
to ensure compliance with the Provincial
legislation and best practices established
throughout the policing community.
10 STPS Annual Report 2010
KEEPING OUR STREETS SAFE
Traffic Projects
By Staff Sergeant Hank Zehr
Traffic safety, education, and enforcement remain a high priority for the St. Thomas Police Service and our community as
indicated in the results of our internal and
community surveys. Traffic safety is an integral part of our business plan and remains a
very important element of policing in our
community.
In order to effectively address traffic concerns, the St. Thomas Police Service uses a
traffic project format to assess each complaint and then take action through a series
of appropriate steps to address the complaint through referral, education or
enforcement. The police service works
closely with community resources such as
the by-law department, the City Roads
department, and our own internal resources
such as the Community Services officer and
our media relations officer to effectively
address every situation.
In 2010, the St. Thomas Police Service
introduced a new initiative to enhance traffic safety in our community by creating a
dedicated traffic unit for 3 months to supplement the ongoing efforts of general
patrol officers. This venture was extremely
successful and plans are to continue this initiative in 2011.
When the police service receives a traffic
complaint of an ongoing nature, an officer is
assigned to investigate and report their findings. If the complaint warrants further police
action, a traffic project is initiated and patrol
officers are assigned this task daily in addition to their regular patrol duties.
Not all traffic complaints result in an
actual traffic project. If the officer can effectively address the complaint immediately,
they will do so. If the complaint can be better addressed with the assistance of our
community partners, a traffic project may
not be the most effective way to deal with
the situation and an alternative course of
action is taken. Traffic projects are geared
primarily towards education and enforcement; some complaints received are beyond
the control of the police service and need to
be addressed differently such as complaints
suggesting lower speeds, other speed
R.I.D.E. Program
In 2010, the St. Thomas Police Service conducted 27 R.I.D.E. programs.
Each R.I.D.E. program is scheduled for
approximately 4 hours in length and
are conducted at different locations
throughout the City. Four police officers are usually assigned to each R.I.D.E.
Constable Frank Boyes running radar.
control devices (speed bumps), or changes
to municipal by-laws. Every traffic complaint is taken seriously and is followed up
by officers.
Not all traffic projects are as a result of a
external complaint. Some traffic projects are
generated based on statistical information
such as high collision intersections or
known areas where traffic safety is at risk or
on new legislative changes such as the distracted driving legislation.
In 2010, the St. Thomas Police Service
received or generated 29 traffic complaints
(on going in nature) resulting in 20 specifically assigned traffic projects, this is slightly
higher than in 2009. Of the 20 traffic projects,
a total of 481 traffic project reports were submitted, up from 293 last year. This translates
to an officer being assigned the traffic
projects 481 times and addressing the complaint. As a result of the 20 traffic projects,
173 (up from 88 last year) Provincial Offence
Notices (tickets) were issued and several
warnings were given. There were more traffic projects initiated in comparison to 2009
and significantly more charges laid.
Traffic projects in 2010:
■ Stop sign violations on Elm Street
and First Avenue
■ Speeding on Scott Street and Curtis
program, however, fluctuates depending on the R.I.D.E. program funding.
In 2010, the 27 R.I.D.E. programs were
funded as follows:
FUNDED
TOTAL 2010
Solicitor General ................................ 14
Platoon Strength ................................ 10
M.A.D.D. ............................................ 03
Street (school complaint)
■ Speeding on Parkside Drive (school
complaint)
■ Stop sign on Manitoba Street and
Kains Street
■ Speeding on Wellington Street at
Third Avenue
■ Parking on Mary Bucke Street (school
complaint)
■ Parking complaints on Aldborough
Avenue
■ Speeding on Highview Drive
■ Speeding on Pine Valley Drive
■ Speeding on Steele Street
■ Parking on Gliddon Avenue
■ Stop sign violations at Chestnut and
Highview Drive
■ Speeding on Axford Parkway
■ Traffic lights at Elm and Meehan
■ Speeding on Neal Avenue
■ Speeding on Park Avenue
■ Stop sign at Warbler Heights and
Hummingbird Drive
■ Bikes on the sidewalk on Talbot
Street
■ Distracted driving legislation (cell
phones)
■ Stop sign at Fairview Avenue and
Axford Parkway
Road safety continues to be a high priority for the St. Thomas Police Service.
Every year, police agencies in the
Province of Ontario apply to the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services for grant money. The
Ministry allocates monies to eligible
applicants. The government doubled
the awarded money in 2008 to approximately 2.4 million dollars. The grants
pay the wages of officers who work the
STPS Annual Report 2010
KEEPING OUR STREETS SAFE
11
R.I.D.E. Program Continued
R.I.D.E. programs. In 2010, the funds
were allocated to 172 eligible applicants. In 2010, the St. Thomas Police
Service was allocated $15,647 in grant
money.
During the R.I.D.E. programs in
St. Thomas, approximately 8,800 vehicles were stopped and checked for
driver sobriety. Fifteen (15) roadside
screening tests were administered
resulting in criminal charges for two
individuals for drinking and driving
offences as well as the issuance of
3-day driver suspensions for four drivers who were then released at the
scene.
The R.I.D.E. program initiative is an
effective deterrent and effective tool to
educate the public about the dangers
of drinking and driving. Statistics show
that drinking and driving is still the
number one cause of criminal death
and injury in our society. R.I.D.E. spot
Drinking and Driving Offences
By Staff Sergeant Randy Mundt
In 2010, the St. Thomas Police Service
conducted 75 Intoxilyzer tests. Of these, five
were conducted for the Ontario Provincial
Police and two for the Aylmer Police Service, leaving 68 breath tests for the St. Thomas Police Service.
Of the 75 subjects tested, 60 produced
readings in excess of the legal limit of 80 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood,
while ten produced readings under the legal
St. Thomas Police Launches
Part-Time Traffic Unit
Not surprisingly, most St. Thomas residents rank traffic safety as a top priority.
The St. Thomas Police Service acknowle d g e s t h i s a n d t h ro u g h e n f o rc e ment, education, and partnering with
other important road safety partners, we
strive to improve the safety of our streets
for everyone. Whether it is our members
responding to a neighbourhood complaint of speeding or monitoring traffic
in a reported trouble spot location, the
St. Thomas Police Service is committed
to ensuring the safety of all St. Thomas
residents and visitors to our City who
share our roads and sidewalks.
The St. Thomas Police Service Traffic
Unit is part of our Support Services Unit
and was formed on October 7, 2010 to
Constables James Ziegler and Kyle Johnstone conducting a RIDE Program.
checks send a strong message to all citizens that impaired driving is unacceptable behavior. We are fortunate to
have the continued support of both the
Provincial Government and our local
chapter of MADD St. Thomas.
limit. Those ten subjects were issued a three
day suspension and released unconditionally without criminal charges. Another five
failed to provide a suitable sample of breath
or refused to do so and were charged with
refusal. One subject was arrested and tested
as a result of a motor vehicle collision.
Individuals that are arrested, brought
before an Intoxilyzer Technician and blow
over the legal limit are either charged with
Impaired Driving, CC 253(a), Operate Motor
Vehicle with more than 80 milligrams of
alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood, CC 253
(b), refuse breath sample, CC 254 (5), or a
combination of two of the three offences.
As a result, a total of 107 Criminal Code
Charges were processed as a result of drinking and driving enforcement. This is down
from a total of 116 total charges in 2009.
Of the 75 subjects tested, 62 were on
males. The oldest person tested was 78 years
old, while the youngest was 18 years old.
The highest recorded reading by a subject
during the year was 350 mg of alcohol in 100
ml of blood. This is more than four times the
legal limit.
manage the ever growing traffic safety
needs of St. Thomas. Constable Travis
Sandham and Constable Chad Nevill
have been dedicated to address traffic
concerns and optimize traffic safety. The
traffic unit shift hours are 7:00 a.m. to
7:00 p.m., seven days a week and this
traffic initiative is expected to run until
December. While the St. Thomas Police
would like to make this initiative permanent, it is our intention at this time to
operate the traffic unit in the fall and
spring.
Specific traffic concerns have been
identified in St. Thomas through our ongoing Traffic Project Program. The primary emphasis of the Traffic Unit is to
problem-solve with the community
regarding local traffic concerns and to
provide general traffic duties including:
■ traffic safety education
■ investigation of serious personal
injury collisions and fail to remain
collisions
■ traffic safety enforcement programs
(e.g. speeding, seat belts, aggressive
drivers)
■ enforcement of the Highway Traffic
Act and driving complaints
■ pedestrian and bicycle safety, local
traffic signs, school zone safety
■ parades and special events occurring
on roadways
St. Thomas Police Traffic officers will
occasionally team up with outside agencies such as the London Police Traffic
Unit and the OPP for the purpose of road
safety campaigns.
For any questions or concerns related
to traffic safety, please feel free to contact Staff Sergeant Chris Herridge at
(519) 631-1224 x152.
12 STPS Annual Report 2010
Crime Prevention Officer
By Constable Cam Constable
“Crime Prevention is the anticipation,
recognition and appraisal of a crime risk
and the action taken to remove or reduce
it.”
The mandate of the Crime Prevention
Office is:
■ To provide crime prevention expertise in support of frontline policing
■ To promote and support partnerships
with external stakeholders, government,
community and other police services,
aimed at the prevention and reduction of
crime. Take a leadership role in identifying and sharing best practices, on a broad
range of crime prevention focused programs and initiatives, proven effective
through research and consultation
■ Deliver crime prevention messaging
to the public targeted at reducing crime,
as well as the impact, victimization and
fear of crime within our communities
across Ontario
■ Forecast and develop responses to
emerging crime trends
The crime prevention officer works
closely with the media to disseminate
pertinent information involving current
Community Resource Officer
By Constable Jason Geddes
Serving as the Community Resource
Officer, Constable Geddes spends the
majority of his time at the four local
high schools and one alternative high
school. Constable Geddes’ goal is to
foster positive relationships between
police and youth and to facilitate the
prevention of crimes and criminal
activity in the school environments.
Constable Geddes is able to attain
these goals through education, mentoring, counseling and speaking with students on police-related matters. Constable Geddes is also able to achieve
success through participating in extracurricular events, parent council meetings and by liaising with the teachers,
support staff and administration.
Constable Geddes continued to be an
active member of the SafeGrad Workshop Committee. The mission of SafeGrad is “to equip high school students
with information, skills and community
support to plan safer celebrations, not
just graduation but throughout the
year”. The goal is “to reduce injuries
due to alcohol and drug use for both
the students and those who are affected
by their choices”.
KEEPING OUR COMMUNITIES AND SCHOOLS SAFE
police activities, crime trends, crime prevention techniques, and policing initiatives to the community.
During 2010, the Crime Prevention
officer focused on the delivery of programs and seminars including robbery
prevention, auto theft, business watch,
industrial watch, hospital watch, variety
watch, realty watch, anti-shoplifting
internal theft prevention, frauds and
scams, elder abuse, to name a few. Educational materials and crime prevention
tips are available on the St Thomas Police
website at www.stps.on.ca, or by contacting Constable Cam Constable at 519-6311224 extension 140.
The crime prevention officer acts as a
liaison between the community and the
Police Service by participating as an
active member of many local committees
including Safe Communities, R-Safes
(road safety), Raise (Reduce addiction),
Elder Abuse and MADD (Mothers
Against Drunk Driving) meeting on a
monthly basis. The mandate of each
committee is to investigate and study all
conditions and situations in an attempt
to reduce or eliminate crime.
During 2010, the crime prevention
officer attended many community events
Constable Geddes continues to provide lectures for young drivers at DJ’s
Driver Training. This prepares young
drivers for the responsibility of safely
operating a vehicle. Other lectures
include Grade 9 Orientation Open
Houses to provide insight into what to
expect for the first year of high school,
information about the Adopt-A-School
program and how police are proactive
in ensuring they have a safe and comfortable school environment.
Constable Geddes is also active in
community events including, but not
limited to, the Fire Muster, Iron Horse
Festival, Valleyview Chili Cook-off, and
the Talbot Teen Centre Christmas
dinner.
Constable Geddes continues to support the Talbot Teen Centre located at
745 Talbot Street. It is orientated for
youths 12-18 years of age. Constable
Geddes has been able to establish a
rapport with staff and youths. There are
numerous programs and activities that
generate positive learning and social
skills and the young people have
assumed a great deal of ownership and
responsibility for the Centre.
Constable Geddes was chosen among
six St. Thomas Police Officers to assist
with security at the G-20 Summit held
Constable Cam Constable
such as the Fanshawe College Career
Day, International Police Week, Big
Brothers Big Sisters Charity Golf Tournament for Kids and Kops, the Seniors Picnic in the Park, St. Thomas Housing Barbecues, Valleyview Charity Chili Cook
Off, Kids 'N Kops Canadian Tire and Bob
Izumis’ Fishing Derby, Valleyview’s
“Shootin’ the Breeze” Coffee Club, and
the St. Thomas Santa Claus parade, to
name a few.
Constable Jason Geddes
June 21-28, 2010 in Toronto, Ontario.
The event brought together the world’s
most powerful leaders creating an
intense focal point for safety and security in the City of Toronto.
Constable Geddes has a good relationship with the staff and students
and believes that educating students
through calls for service or presentations on the consequences of drug
and alcohol abuse is imperative in
achieving safe schools and a safe
community.
KEEPING OUR COMMUNITIES AND SCHOOLS SAFE
Community Services Officer
Influences and Peers (VIP) program
By Constable Brian Kempster
One of the primary objectives of the
C o m mu n i t y S e r v i c e s O f f i c e r i s t o
“engage youth in meaningful dialogue
and mentorship”. Constable Brian
Kempster is the new Community Services Officer, commencing his duties at
the beginning of the 2010/2011 school
year. On a daily basis, the Community
S er vices Officer engages youth in
meaningful dialogue and mentorship
by attending the grade schools in St.
Thomas and providing information on
various topics to classes from JK to
grade eight. Some of the programs provided by the Community S er vices
Officer are bullying, drug awareness,
use of 911, internet safety, bicycle and
pedestrian safety and duties of a police
officer.
The Community Services Officer also
d e l i v e r s a p o r t i o n o f t h e Va l u e s,
that is part of the London District
Catholic School Board and Thames Valley District School Board curriculums.
The VIP program is taught to all grade 6
classes in the two school boards.
There are currently thirteen grade
schools in St. Thomas that are visited
by the Community Services Officer. The
2010/2011 school year will be the last
year for Balaclava Street School and
Scott Street School. The students at
those schools will move to the new
Edward Street Public School and new
Locke’s Public School, which are both
undergoing the construction of large
additions and upgrades.
The Community Services Officer
works in partnership with various
community groups such as Mothers
Against Drunk Driving, Big Brothers
and Big Sisters, Risk Watch, as well as a
number of committees r un by the
Elgin-St. Thomas Public Health. The
STPS Annual Report 2010
13
Constable Brian Kempster with students.
Community Services Officer will also
assist various community groups with
bicycle rodeos and tours of the police
station.
Adopt-A-School Program
The Adopt-A-School Program was
originally designed to introduce uniform patrol officers to local high school
students. Our Police Service is committed to building positive relationships
with youth in our community and the
Adopt-A-School program continues to
provide opportunities to unite staff, students and the police in the common
goal of ensuring a safe school
environment.
Sixteen (16) frontline patrol officers,
along with the Community Resource
Officer and the Crime Prevention
Officer, attend the four local high
schools and the Alternative School,
incorporating their visits to their
adopted school into their regular shift.
Officers participate and/or attend sporting events and host various classroom
presentations. The most common
attendance of officers is not for a scheduled event but rather to just walk
through and around the school talking
with students and teachers. The officer’s presence demonstrates their commitment to the students and strengthens the student/police relationship. The
officers have been very well received
and it has become a common sighting
to see a uniformed officer in the school
at any time that the school is open. Constable Jason Geddes, the Community
Resource Officer, plays a key role,
enhancing communication between the
Constable Mike Kaiser, also an Adopt-A-School officer in local high schools, reads to
elementary school children.
schools and the frontline officers who
help develop, maintain and enhance a
positive rapport. His daily attendance
in the high schools affords him the most
consistent connection with school officials, students and parents.
The success of this program can be
directly attributed to the commitment
of the officers; the support and commitment of school staff, and the cooperation and enthusiasm of the
students.
14 STPS Annual Report 2010
DEMANDS ON SERVICES
ST. THOMAS POLICE SERVICE Crime Statistics Comparison - 2010
* These numbers reflect the actual number of criminal charges laid. ** These numbers are for the most serious charge within a given incident (i.e. if a male & female were each charged in the same incident the
only number reflected in this category would be the sex of the person charged with the most serious violation)
2010
2009
2008
2007
Crimes of Violence
Crimes Against Property
Homicide/Attempt Murder ............................................... 1..................... 2 ......................0.................... 1
Robbery ............................................................................. 14................... 21 ....................23.................... 6
Sexual Assaults & Other Sexual Offences ....................... 27................... 25 ....................27.................. 34
Non-Sexual Assaults ....................................................... 175................. 192 ..................241................ 261
Break & Enter .................................................................. 186................. 226 ..................219................ 206
Thefts - Motor Vehicle and
Thefts Over, Under & Possession................................... 761................. 786 ..................901................ 905
Fraud ............................................................................... 108................. 109 ..................120.................. 95
Arson ................................................................................... 6................... 10 ....................14.................. 11
Mischief ........................................................................... 261................. 373 ..................420................ 429
Other Criminal Code
Weapons .............................................................................. 7................... 23 ....................14.................. 11
Bail Violations ................................................................... 96................. 128 ..................140................ 152
Controlled Drugs and Substances Act
All C.D.S.A. Offences ........................................................ 70................... 99 ....................69.................. 82
Criminal Driving Offences
Impaired Driving/Over .08 ............................................ 105................. 100 ....................86.................. 92
Refuse Breath Sample ........................................................ 5..................... 6 ......................4.................... 5
Disqualified Driving ......................................................... 22................... 16 ......................8.................. 14
Criminal Charges - General Statistics*
Number of Criminal Charges* ..................................... 1546............... 1889 ................1685.............. 1631
Adult Males Charged** ................................................... 495................. 548 ..................540................ 573
Adult Females Charged** ............................................... 167................. 186 ..................164................ 142
Young Offender Males Charged** ................................... 64................... 94 ....................95.................. 93
Young Offender Females Charged** ............................... 24................... 35 ....................35.................. 27
Provincial Offences and By-Law Statistics Highway Traffic Act (PON's Issued) ............................ 3569............... 3400 ................3161.............. 3121
Liquor Licence Act (PON's Issued) ............................... 261................. 280 ..................295................ 304
Parking Violations .......................................................... 600................. 597 ..................944................ 896
Motor Vehicle Collisions
Fatal MVC's ......................................................................... 0..................... 2 ......................1.................... 0
Reportable MVC's (without Injuries)............................ 315................. 317 ..................329................ 315
Reportable MVC's (with Injuries) ................................... 85................. 101 ..................111................ 114
Number of People Injured ............................................. 128................. 135 ..................156................ 152
General Statistics
Number of Incidents .................................................15,295............ 15,839 .............16,524........... 16,458
Professional Standards
Branch
The Police Services Act Part V mandates
that all Police Services maintain a Public
Complaints Bureau. In 2010, the Office of
the Independent Police Review Director
(OIPRD) adjudicated two (2) complaints
about members of the St. Thomas Police
Service from two citizens.
In 2010, the St. Thomas Police Public
Complaints Bureau adjudicated three (3)
complaints about members of the Service
from three citizens. Five (5) complaints were
made regarding five incidents regarding the
conduct of members of the Service. The following is a summary of the complaints and
their status:
The first complaint was received on January 25, 2010 regarding an incident that
occurred on August 24, 2008 when the complainant was investigated for hitting a vehicle with a broom as it passed by her. She was
not pleased with how the officer spoke to
her while investigating the incident. As per
the Police Services Act, Section 59 (4), the
complaint was not dealt with as it was made
more than 6 months after the date of the
incident. The complainant was advised that
no further action would be taken. On February 2nd, the complainant signed off on
the complaint form indicating she would
not be seeking a review of the decision.
The second complaint was forwarded
from the Office of the Independent Police
Complaints Director (OIPRD) on February
8, 2010 in relation to a complaint from a citizen who felt intimidated while being questioned by an officer who was investigating
the complainant for trespassing at the
YMCA. The complainant indicated that the
officer had his hand on the butt of his gun
while talking to the complainant and
refused to identify himself. A second officer
was present for this incident. The investigation was completed by a member of the Professional Standards Branch. On March 30,
2010, the Deputy Chief adjudicated the
complaint and found it to be unsubstantiated. On May 30th, the complainant asked
the Office of the Independent Police Complaints Director (OIPRD) to review the decision. On November 4, 2010 the OIPRD
upheld the decision of Deputy Chief Pinnell
and no further action will be taken.
The third complaint was laid on March
31, 2010 and related to the investigation of a
lawyer’s office who was engaged as a
collection agency. The complainant alleged
that the officer called the complainant’s
business a scam. The investigation was completed by a member of the Professional
Standards Branch. On March 27, 2009 the
Deputy Chief adjudicated the complaint
and found it to be unsubstantiated. The
OIPRD closed the file on September 29,
2010.
The fourth complaint was laid on June 25,
2010 in relation to a Break and Enter investigation on May 15, 2010. The complainant
indicated that his 11 yr old son was improperly questioned by an officer in his presence
and invited himself into his home. The
investigation was completed by a member
of the Professional Standards Branch. On
October 28, the Deputy Chief adjudicated
t h e c o m p l a i nt a n d f o u n d i t t o b e
unsubstantiated.
The fifth complaint was a decision by the
OIPRD forwarded to the Police Service on
November 30, 2010. A complaint was laid
with the OIPRD by a citizen who was
stopped by a St. Thomas officer under the
Highway Traffic Act. The complainant questioned the reason for the stop. The OIPRD
determined that the complaint was frivolous (lacking substance) and refused to pro-
STPS Annual Report 2010
DEMANDS ON SERVICES
Professional Standards Branch
Continued
ceed with the complaint.
Types of Public Complaints received in
2010:
Complaints about Police Officer’s
conduct:......................................................... 4
Complaints about Policies or
Services .......................................................... 1
Police Pursuits
By Deputy Chief Darryl Pinnell
Members of the St. Thomas Police Service initiated five (5) police suspect apprehension pursuits during the course of the
year 2010, the same number as 2009. In
all instances where individuals were
apprehended, appropriate criminal and/
or provincial charges were laid. All pursuit reports are reviewed to ensure that in
each case members of the Service followed established procedures and used
good judgement in the execution of their
duties, or corrective action was taken
immediately. The issue of officer and
public safety in these types of situations
remains paramount. All necessary documentation is forwarded to the Ministry of
the Solicitor General as required.
2010 Statistics:
Total Pursuits: ...........................................5
Pursuits Terminated: ................................5
Stolen vehicles involved: ...........................2
Incidents concluded with
Apprehension and charges: .....................3
Criminal Code Charges: .........................11
Highway Traffic Act Offences: .................2
Highway Traffic Act Charges: ...................3
Overview:
January 25, 2010 at approximately 1:00
am, officers working in old clothes in an
unmarked Police vehicle observed a suspicious vehicle in a residential neighbourhood. Officers ran the plate which
revealed it to be stolen from London. The
officers communicated with their road
supervisor and other marked units in the
area in an effort to contain the stolen
vehicle without pursuing it. On two different occasions, officers attempted to block
the vehicle in and deploy tire deflation
devices. The suspect vehicle managed to
avoid the devices. Eventually the vehicle
pursuit was terminated as the vehicle
Public Complaints in total .......................5
Misconduct Substantiated .......................... 0
Misconduct Unsubstantiated ..................... 3
Withdrawn..................................................... 0
Outside 6 months ......................................... 1
Made in bad faith / Frivolous...................... 1
Ongoing ......................................................... 0
Public Complaints carried over from
2009 ................................................................ 2
began disobeying traffic signals and driving in a fashion that could endanger the
officers or members of the public. The
night was dense with fog. The suspect was
not apprehended. No injuries or damage
was sustained to the public, police personnel or property as a result of this
incident.
April 19, 2010 at approximately 9:38
pm, an officer was responding to a call on
Elm Street driving a fully marked ghost
police vehicle. While traveling eastbound
on Elm Street, the officer stopped for red
light at the intersection of Elm and Fairview Avenue where a red, four-door automobile passed the police cruiser, proceeding through the red light at a high
rate of speed. The officer proceeded eastbound to attempt to stop the vehicle.
Another fully marked police cruiser was
directly behind the first police cruiser so
the two officers initiated their emergency
lights and sirens, but the red automobile
would not stop. The pursuit reached
speeds of 110 kilometers per hour at
which time the Staff Sergeant ordered the
officers to discontinue the pursuit after .9
kilometers. No injuries or damage was
sustained as a result of this incident.
August 6, 2010 at approximately 3:20
pm, a plain-clothed drug officer requested
a marked patrol unit to conduct a traffic
stop on a vehicle with a male driver who
was identified as a suspended driver and
suspected of having drugs in his possession. The officer in the marked unit
attempted to stop the vehicle using lights
and sirens. The driver would not stop and
fled on Talbot Street. The suspect vehicle
narrowly missed being involved in two
collisions as he fled on Talbot Street and
then north on John Street. The Supervisor
discontinued the pursuit after 1.1 km and
2 minutes as the driver had been identified and for public safety reasons. The
male driver was arrested later for a
number of Criminal Code and Highway
Traffic Act Offences including Dangerous
Driving, Disqualified Driving, and Failing
to Stop for Police. The officer was counselled for improper application of the
15
Internal Complaints (initiated by the
Chief of Police) in total…… ......................... 5
Misconduct substantiated ............................2
Ongoing into 2011 ........................................ 1
The number of complaints received in
2010 (5 complaints involving 5 incidents) is
slightly lower than 2009 (6 complaints
involving 6 incidents). This number of complaints is low for a Police Service that handles in excess of 15,000 calls per year.
St. Thomas Police Pursuit policy. No injuries or damage was sustained as a result
of this incident.
September 3, 2010 at 2:09 pm, Police
were called to the Liquor store regarding
the theft of liquor. The culprits were seen
leaving in a green Honda Accord. A uniformed officer while on patrol in a marked
Police vehicle observed the suspect vehicle speeding on First Avenue. The car
went through the red light at First Avenue
and Edward Street and continued onto
the bypass west towards London. The
officer attempted to catch up to the vehicle and stop it, activating the emergency
lights and siren. After approximately 2
kilometers, the Supervisor called off the
pursuit for public safety reasons. The
description of the vehicle and occupants
were shared with the OPP and London
City Police. A short time later, London
Police located the vehicle in question and
arrested a male for possession of the stolen vehicle and stolen liquor. No injuries
or damage was sustained as a result of
this incident.
December 20, 2010 at 10:21 am, plain
clothes officers advised a uniformed
patrol officer of a male identified as a disqualified driver driving a grey pick-up
truck on Wellington Street. The officer,
driving a fully marked police cruiser, activated his emergency equipment and
attempted to stop the vehicle. The vehicle
would not stop so the officer deactivated
his emergency equipment, discontinued
the stop and the vehicle sped away. The
driver subsequently turned towards the
officer, driving directly at the cruiser with
the pick-up truck narrowly missing the
cruiser and proceeding through a stop
sign without stopping. The vehicle continued almost hitting a transport truck.
The truck passed three more vehicles and
was lost from sight. The male was identified by the plain cloth officers and a Criminal Code warrant for his arrest was issued
for Failing to Stop for Police, Dangerous
operation of a Motor Vehicle and Disqualified Driving. The male was arrested
several days later without incident.
16 STPS Annual Report 2010
DEMANDS ON SERVICES
Court Services
By Staff Sergeant Chris Herridge
The St. Thomas Police Service Court
Services Unit is comprised of the Court
Case Manager Special Constable Maggie
MacLaren, Provincial Offences Case Manager Special Constable Lizzie Miller, a
Police officer – Constable Bev Brennan,
prisoner transportation and security officers – Special Constables Jim Kaiser and
Mike Rogozynski and the supervisor - Staff
Sergeant Chris Herridge who work jointly
with several OPP court officers namely
Constables Mike Hawes, Wayne Lamoure
and Harry Marrisen and Aylmer’s court
officer, Special Constable Pat Hovorka.
Court Security Officers are civilian members who play an important role in the
St. Thomas Police organization. Once
hired, Court Security Officers are sworn as
a Special Constable, a designation issued
by the Province of Ontario. The Special
Constables are uniformed members whose
appearance is different from that of uniform patrol officers. Their light blue shirts
(as opposed to dark blue) and shoulder
epaulets identify them and their position.
In addition, Special Constables are not
issued firearms but are issued and trained
in the use of all other specialized police
equipment that may be used in the course
of their duties.
Special Constables work within three different environments of the St. Thomas
Police Service specifically the St. Thomas
Police detention Cell Block, the various
St. Thomas Courthouses, as well as the Provincial Offences Court referred to as POA
Court located in County of Elgin building
at 450 Sunset Drive.
Interim court facility on Silver Street.
Court Case Manager - Special Constable Maggie MacLaren opens up prisoner
transport vehicle.
The St. Thomas Police Court Services is a
uniformed unit providing case management of all federal, criminal, and provincial
statues and municipal by-law charges laid
by the St. Thomas Police Service. The Court
Services Unit is responsible for providing
court security and is the liaison between
the Police Service and court-related agencies such as the Judiciary, Crown and
Defense Counsel, Court Administrative
staff, public and private agencies regarding
victims and offenders, as well as the general public and other members of our
Service.
The St. Thomas Police Court Services
Unit managed 1,546 criminal charges in
2010 including drug offences as well as an
additional 4,145 Provincial Offences
charges.
The prisoner escort and court security
officers are responsible for the transportation of prisoners from local detention centres to court for their hearings and trials. All
cell areas at court facilities are equipped
with audio-visual equipment for monitoring the behaviour and well-being of persons in custody. Court Security officers
must continually monitor and physically
check the condition of prisoners to ensure
their maximum safety.
The officers provide court security for
the Ontario Court of Justice located at
30 St. Catherine Street and the Superiour
Court of Justice previously located at 4 Wellington Street that has since been moved
on January 4, 2011 to an interim location at
1 Silver Street, St. Thomas. Special Constables also gather DNA samples for submission to the DNA Data Bank.
Prisoners from the OPP and Aylmer
Police are also lodged at the St. Thomas
Police holding cells. In 2010, our Service
was responsible for 1,324 prisoners while
the Elgin OPP had 814 and the Aylmer
Police Service had a total of 44 prisoners.
A total of 2,182 prisoners were transported
for personal appearances in the various
courts of our jurisdiction. In 2010, we also
transported prisoners to various mental
health facilities throughout Ontario.
The Criminal and Provincial Court Case
Managers have the responsibility of notifying all officers required to attend court.
Special Constable MacLaren and Special
Constable Miller assist the local prosecuting Crowns and court staff to arrange for
the most cost effective court appearances
in an attempt to work within the annual
budgeted amount of $40,000. In 2010, the
total court overtime budget was $12,637.58
compared to $14,995.79 in 2009, $16,715.22
in 2008 and $17,300 in 2007.
STPS Annual Report 2010
DEMANDS ON SERVICES
Property Management
By Special Constable Lisa Johnson
Whether it’s found abandoned on a
street corner or taken in as evidence at a
crime scene, it is the Property Officer's
responsibility to catalogue and track every
piece of property that comes into the custody of the St. Thomas Police Service. It is
the mandate of the Property Officer to preser ve and protect property. This is
achieved by maintaining a professional,
efficient and systematic storage and handling system of each piece of property or
evidence that has been entrusted into the
property officer’s care. All property is
audited by Special Constable Lisa Johnson
on a regular basis to ensure accountability
and disposal is completed in a judicious
manner. At present, there are approximately 3,934 articles, either found or
seized as evidence, being held in the property storage consisting of DVDs, documents, firearms, computers, liquor, electronics, bicycles, licence plates, and
various other items to name a few. Many
of these articles must be stored for
extended periods of time, some as long as
several years, as they may be required as
evidence in Court.
In 2010, as ordered by the courts or at
the request of owners, thirty (30) firearms
were destroyed. Other articles, particularly
found items, are routinely sold at public
auctions which are generally held twice a
year taking place in the spring and fall. In
17
2010, only one auction was held in the fall
generating a revenue of $867.00 to the
Police Services Board. On occasion, the
courts will request forfeiture of property
and currency seized under specific sections of the Criminal Code, the Controlled
Drugs and Substances Act and the Proceeds of Crime and Terrorist Financing
Act. It is the responsibility of the Property
Officer to send forfeited currency from
drug investigations to the Seized Property
Management Directorate of Public Works
and Government Services Canada who
manages these assets seized or restrained.
In 2010, as a result of cash forfeitures
requested by the courts, our Service sent
$25,029.51 to the Seized Property Management Directorate.
Use of Force Options Utilized in the Field
By Deputy Chief Darryl Pinnell
In reviewing the Use of Force Reports for the
years 2008-2010, it is noted that the number of
incidents dramatically increased from 2008 to
2009 and then returned to a five year low of 27
incidents in 2010. In 2010, officers drew their
firearms in ten incidents. In 2009, officers drew
their firearms in twenty-three cases, and in
2008 twenty-two times. In 2009, the prevalent
weapons that officers faced were knives and
the use, or suspected use, of a firearm. In 2010,
it was the presence of knives or the suspected
presence of a firearm.
The Conducted Energy Weapon (CEW) or
Taser has been used sparingly from 2008-2010.
It was deployed twice in 2008 - once to arrest a
male who had access to a knife, and a second
time to apprehend a violent male under the
Mental Health Act. The taser was deployed
once in 2009 to ward off two vicious dogs during a drug search warrant. The taser was not
deployed in 2010.
O/C (Pepper) spray was used sparingly
from 2008-2010; used only twice in 2008, six
times in 2009 and four times in 2010. The O/C
spray was used primary to subdue threatening
individuals who were actively resisting arrest
or were demonstrating violent or suicidal
tendencies.
The baton was used seven times from 20082010; once in 2008, four times in 2009 and
twice in 2010. On both occasions in 2010, the
baton was used in combination with other Use
of Force options including pepper spray, and
empty hand techniques. Some level of intoxication is present in many of these situations
and the officers use a baton or empty hand
techniques to gain control of resisting
suspects.
The Use of Force statistics reflect some areas
of the yearly Crime Statistics. 2010 saw the
trend of increased robberies from 2009 (20)
decrease in 2010 to 13. In 2009, there were 25
weapons related offences - a 5 year high. In
2010, weapons offences decreased to 6. The
decreased number of Use of Force incidents
correlates with a drop in violent and weapons
related offences in 2010. These trends will continue to be monitored annually. All incidents
are reviewed and the Administration is satisfied that our members chose the proper Use of
Force options available to them and utilized
them adequately and effectively in the performance of their duties. Good judgment was
displayed and a minimal amount of force was
used wherever possible.
2010 Statistics
Incidents requiring Use of Force (Reportable in nature)
2006 .....................................................29 Incidents
2007 .....................................................27 Incidents
2008 .....................................................30 Incidents
2009 .....................................................54 Incidents
2010 .....................................................27 Incidents
Firearms were drawn or displayed to public
view in ten (10) incidents.
Firearms were used to dispatch injured animals for humanitarian purposes on eleven
(11) occasions.
The Conducted Energy Device (Taser) was
not utilized.
Aerosol weapons (O/C Spray) were utilized
on four (4) occasions.
The baton was used in two (2) incidents.
Empty hand techniques were used in three
(3) situations.
Firearms - On January 17, 2010, police were
called to a City residence where a male was
threatening himself and family members with
a knife. Officers attended, drew their firearms,
and verbally instructed the suspect to drop the
knife and follow verbal commands. The
Deputy Chief Darryl Pinnell
suspect complied by dropping the knife and
he was taken into custody without further incident. The male was formed under the Mental
Health Act and charged criminally.
On January 24, 2010 at approx 9:11pm, officers responded to a complaint about a home
invasion where a female was accosted by a
male at knifepoint. The male fled the scene in
a silver Ford Focus station wagon. Moments
later, an officer observed a light coloured Ford
Focus exit the parking area near the home
invasion. The responding officer stopped the
vehicle. The driver immediately exited his
vehicle and began walking towards the officers. The officer drew his firearm and instructed
the male to return to his vehicle. The male
complied. Further investigation revealed that
this male was not the suspect wanted for the
home invasion. The situation was explained to
the driver who was sent on his way. No persons were injured in this incident.
On February 17, 2010 at approximately 5:17
pm, members of the Drug Enforcement Unit
conducted a Controlled Drugs and Substances
Search Warrant on a Confederation Drive
address. Once inside the residence, a male
18 STPS Annual Report 2010
Use of Force Options Utilized in
the Field Continued
found sitting on the coach was arrested at gunpoint while a second man found hiding in a
washroom was also taken into custody at gunpoint. The warrant uncovered a quantity of
drugs (cocaine, marihuana etc.) and cash. As a
result, three persons were charged.
On May 14th, officers were dispatched to a
call involving a suicidal male in possession of
two knives. Officers attended and spoke with
the male who had two knives on his person
and he was asked to surrender them. The
Supervisor had a taser in hand while the patrol
officer drew his firearm. After several minutes
of tactical communication, the male dropped
the knives and was apprehended under the
Mental Health Act. The male was transported
to the hospital for evaluation.
On July 7th at approximately 11:48 am,
members of the Drug Enforcement Unit conducted a search warrant on a S. Edgeware
Drive address. Once inside the residence, a
male was found hiding behind a wall. The
male dropped his hands out of sight so an
officer drew his firearm and the male was
taken into custody without incident. The warrant uncovered a quantity of drugs (crack
cocaine and marihuana) and cash. The male
arrested in the residence was charged.
On July 28th, Police were called to a residence where a man had shot himself. The
male was located exiting the residence and
was apprehended at gunpoint by two responding officers. After determining the male was
not armed and had suffered a self -inflicted
gunshot wound, he was transported to the
hospital for treatment.
On August 18th, the Drug Enforcement Unit
was completing surveillance on a residence in
regards to a drug investigation. The Drug Unit
asked for the assistance of the Uniform Branch
to conduct a traffic stop on a vehicle with two
individuals, one who is known to carry a knife.
While one officer in a marked unit attempted
to catch up with the suspect vehicle, a similar
vehicle near the suspect vehicle did an abrupt
U-turn. The officer conducted a high risk stop
on the vehicle. The male exited his vehicle
quickly and the officer pulled his gun and gave
commands to the driver. It was learned that
this was not the suspect vehicle in question
and the driver was released from the scene.
Two other uniformed officers in a marked
cruiser located the suspect vehicle and conducted a high risk traffic stop. Two local men,
26 and 28 years old, were arrested at gunpoint
and taken into custody without incident. The
males were in possession of oxycodone and a
pipe with traces of crack cocaine. Numerous
charges were laid against these two individuals. No persons were injured in this incident.
DEMANDS ON SERVICES
On November 22nd, members of the Drug
Enforcement Unit conducted a search warrant
for drugs on a Talbot Street address. Once
inside the residence, officers were confronted
by six individuals who were taken into custody
at gunpoint without incident. One male was
hit in the head by an officer to affect his arrest.
No injuries were received by the male. Upon
searching one of the males, two knives were
found on his person. The warrant uncovered a
quantity of drugs (crack cocaine and oxycodone) and cash. A vehicle was also seized
under the Proceeds of Crime Legislation. All
six individuals were charged. No injuries or
damage was sustained as a result of this
incident.
On November 27th, officers responded to a
complaint of a domestic assault in progress.
Upon arriving at a multi-unit residence, officers discovered a quantity of blood in the stairway and hallway indicating a violent disturbance. Officers were unable to raise occupants
at the unit but could hear what sounded like
people inside. Officers, believing someone was
in imminent danger, entered the apartment
with firearms drawn. No persons would show
themselves in the residence. Officers searched
the residence and found two males who were
arrested at gunpoint without incident. Further
investigation uncovered a racially motivated
assault and swarming had taken place at this
residence. The victim was seriously injured
and taken to the hospital for treatment. Several
males were taken into custody and charged
with various Criminal offences relating to the
beating.
On December 29th, the St. Thomas Police
were asked to assist the OPP with a high risk
traffic stop of a vehicle where a male passenger
was believed to be a wanted high risk domestic
offender in possession of a firearm or access to
a firearm. The male was driving in a vehicle in
the City of St. Thomas. Three uniformed officers and one plain-clothed officer stopped the
vehicle and arrested the male passenger at
gunpoint. After affecting the arrest, it was realized that the male in question was not the
wanted person. The male was released unconditionally after police explained the situation.
No injuries or damage was sustained to Police
Service personnel or property as a result of
these incidents.
Conducted Energy Weapon (Taser) - Not
deployed in 2010.
Aerosol Weapons - On January 14, 2010, an
officer was attempting to place a 17 year old
male in custody on an outstanding warrant for
his arrest. The male actively resisted the officer
who tried using empty hand techniques to
subdue him. He continued to resist, so the
officer pepper sprayed him to gain compliance
and he was taken into custody without further
incident. The male was charged with resisting
arrest as well as the charges for which the original warrant was issued.
On March 6th, a uniformed officer was in
the process of arresting an impaired driver
when a male unrelated to the incident
approached the officer. The male was intoxicated and belligerent. Additional officers
attended the scene to assist and the male was
taken into custody. While doing so, two more
intoxicated males attended the scene and
attempted to obstruct the officers. One of the
men grabbed an officer by the throat. This
male was verbally instructed to let go but he
would not comply. Soft and hard empty hand
techniques were applied with limited success,
so an officer used pepper spray to gain compliance. The officers did not receive any lasting
injury as a result of the occurrence. The
accused received a minor injury to his head
that required two stitches. The male was
charged with assault Police and numerous
other criminal offences.
On March 15th, two officers were involved
in a foot pursuit of a male who was caught
breaking into cars. He was caught and placed
under arrest during which he actively resisted
arrest. While one officer struggled physically
Staff Sergeant Chris Herridge watches Constable Mike Buttinger at the annual
re-qualification with firearm.
DEMANDS ON SERVICES
Use of Force Options Utilized in
the Field Continued
with the man, the other officer used OC Spray
to gain compliance, but the spray did not have
an effect on the struggling offender. The
officer then used an ASP baton on his right
upper thigh muscle to gain compliance. A
third officer assisted and they were eventually
able to gain control of the male. The male
received no lasting injuries.
On August 27th, officers from the Drug
Unit, with the assistance of the Uniform
Branch, conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle
with three males inside. The males were suspects in narcotics trafficking. One man was
known to police as having an extensive, violent criminal history. While conducting the
traffic stop, the known man was uncooperative and refused to show the officers his hands.
A uniformed officer repeatedly requested the
male to show his hands but he would not
comply. Attempts to secure his hands using
empty hand techniques were unsuccessful.
STPS Annual Report 2010
The officer then pepper sprayed the male as
he believed he was hiding a weapon, but the
pepper spray did not appear to affect him.
After repeated attempts, the man was removed
from the vehicle and taken into custody. No
injuries or damage was sustained to Police
Service personnel or property as a result of
these incidents.
Baton - On May 1st, uniformed officers
observed a number of intoxicated persons
causing a disturbance on the roadway. One
male in the group was heavily intoxicated, discarded open alcohol, and ignored the verbal
commands of Police. The officer attempted to
arrest the male for being intoxicated in a public place when the male punched the officer in
the side of the face and ran. The officer chased
the male and caught him. The male would not
respond to verbal commands and took on a
fighting stance with the officer. The officer
pulled his expandable baton and hit the male
in the left upper leg. The male was taken to the
ground and was still not responding to verbal
commands to place his hands behind his back
19
to be handcuffed. Empty hand strikes were
delivered by the officer in order to gain control
of the accused. The officer eventually gained
control of the male and applied the handcuffs.
The male was charged with assaulting a Police
Officer as well as an offence under the Liquor
License Act. The officer or accused were not
injured as a result of this incident.
Empty Hand Techniques - On June 4,
2010, plain-clothes Drug unit officers arrested
a male for Breach of Recognizance under the
Criminal Code. The officers identified themselves and placed the male under arrest. The
male refused to comply with officer demands
to be handcuffed. The officer used two knee
strikes to affect the arrest. The subject was
then arrested and taken to the station. The
male was treated at the Elgin General Hospital
for minor injuries and released.
Note: Some incidents above involve the use
of multiple Use of Force options within a single
incident. Therefore, the actual number of incidents reported may vary from the number of
incidents described.
SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS TEAM
Criminal Investigations Branch
By: Staff Sergeant Russ Yates
The Criminal Investigations Unit is a specialized team of investigators who are
highly trained and capable of handling all
types of investigations. The year 2010 was
steady with several major investigations
entered into and two large investigations
going before the courts.
The Criminal Investigations main mandate is to investigate and help prosecute
criminal matters of a more serious nature.
These criminal matters include but are not
limited to: Murder and any Attempts, Suspicious Deaths and Suicides, Child Abuse,
Sexual Assaults, Major Thefts, Robberies
and Frauds. The sources of these investigations come directly from the victim(s), are
assigned from the platoon level, fit the
threshold of a major case, or are received
from other police services or agencies (ie.
Family and Children's Services). The unit,
consisting of, two supervisors - Staff Sergeant Russ Yates and Sergeant Chris Perrin
and four (4) detectives - Constables Kim
Manuel, Jeff Pallister, Jeremy Lapadat, and
Geoff Gosse.
Various other units are included in the
Criminal Investigations Branch including
Crime Stoppers, Forensic Identification,
Drug and Intelligence officers. Constable
Katherine McNeil serves as the Crime Stoppers Coordinator for the Crime Stoppers
Program. Constable McNeil also assists
with the caseload of investigations acquired
by the Criminal Investigations team and
she is the Service's Domestic Violence
Coordinator.
Drug Investigations, Intelligence Gathering and the Forensic Identification section are also members of this unit. Constables Chris Johnson, Dan Spicer and Sean
James are responsible for street level drug
enforcement, prevention and education.
Constable John Cosby is our Intelligence
Officer responsible for the development of
intelligence information, crime analysis,
and to ensure appropriate reporting to the
Criminal Intelligence Service of Ontario.
Constable James Fast serves as our Forensic Identification Officer responsible for
processing crime scenes, searching, collecting and preserving any physical evidence that could assist an investigator. He
is also responsible for registering, updating
and monitoring the Sexual Offender
Registry.
In 2010, two large investigations were
resolved in the court system.
On October 27th Suzanne Heywood,
who was arrested in 2008 for the murder of
77 year old Marcel Lachance, plead guilty
to manslaughter and was sentenced to 11
years in prison. This was an extensive
investigation that took almost two years to
complete.
On September 23rd, Shawn Gallant
plead guilty to manslaughter in the death
of his 2 ½ month old son. This investigation
spanned over a period of 1 ½ years.
During the course of a year, the Criminal
Investigations Branch investigates some of
the sudden deaths that are reported,
including four sudden deaths of males
between the ages of 24 and 39. There
appears to be a troubling trend that some
of these may have been by accidental drug
overdose. A trend of abusing potent over
the counter drugs when not prescribed
appears to be the issue.
In August, a fire was reported at a residence at 70 Centre Street. Upon inspection,
Jason Farro was found inside the apartment
deceased. Over the next couple of months,
our officers conducted an extensive investigation collecting evidence and holding
interviews. This investigation culminated in
the arrest of Dan Belding - 29 years old and
his wife, Tina Ellis - 26 years old - tenants of
the apartment where the deceased had
been staying. They are both charged with
murder and currently in custody.
In October, a 48 year old male repeatedly stabbed a 49 year old male at a residential group home. The 48 year old male
was charged with aggravated assault and
was subsequently found not criminally
responsible. The victim recovered from his
wounds.
The members within this unit are a welltrained, dedicated group of officers that
work together and are capable of dealing
with all types of investigations. Their positive team approach, enthusiasm, and professionalism resulted in the successful conclusion to a number of serious criminal
investigations.
20 STPS Annual Report 2010
Major Case Management
In accordance with the Major Case Management Regulation (O. Reg 354/04) section
2(1), every Chief of Police shall prepare and
submit to the Ministry an annual report setting out the number of major cases investigated in the previous year.
Homicides within the meaning of Subsection 222(4) of the Criminal Code of Canada and attempted homicides. ................... 1
Ontario Sex Offender Registry
Offenders convicted of criteria sex
offences are required to register with the
Police Service in the area where they live.
Offenders must report annually or when
they change their address and surrender
the necessary information along with a
current photograph. This information is
ViCLAS – Violent Crime
Linkage Analysis System
Violent Crime Linkage Analysis System
is a nation-wide computer system that
assists specially trained investigators to
identify serial crimes and criminals by
focusing on the linkages that exist among
crimes committed by the same offender.
This system is also used in the USA and
nine other countries. Canadian Police
Services contribute to ViCLAS by submitting information about the violent crime
investigations in their jurisdictions. In
Ontario and Quebec, legislation has made
it mandatory for police services to submit
this information to ViCLAS. ViCLAS specialists analyze and interpret the information to find patterns and linkages in the
Drug Enforcement
By Constable Dan Spicer
The St. Thomas Police Service Drug
Enforcement Unit and Intelligence Unit
continue to work closely with other agencies which have resulted in information
sharing and joint force operations. There
has been an increase in drugs coming
from London and surrounding areas
which often results in search warrants
and arrests. The St. Thomas Police
Enforcement Unit continues to see an
influx of Oxycontin use as well as the distribution of crack cocaine. The St. Thomas Drug Enforcement also assists the
Criminal Investigation Branch on major
cases when called upon.
In 2010, the Drug Enforcement and
SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS TEAM
Sexual Assaults including sexual
interference and attempted sexual
assaults, sexual exploitation and
invitation to sexual touching .................. 23
Non-familial abductions and attempted
non-familial abductions............................ 0
Missing person occurrences where
circumstances indicate a strong possibility
of foul play .................................................. 0
remains that are suspected to be
homicide. .................................................... 0
Criminal harassment where the harasser is
not known to the victim ............................ 0
Any other cases designated as a major
case pursuant to the Ontario Major Case
Management Manual ................................ 0
Threshold major cases ............................. 16
Occurrences involving found human
Non-threshold major cases....................... 8
uploaded to the Registry database and is
available only to police services. Information is used as an investigative tool for
Police use to prevent and solve crimes of a
sexual nature. This database is also linked
to the National Sex Offender Registry
(NSOR). The St Thomas Police is currently
responsible for 59 convicted offenders
with 46 of those offenders active in the
community and required to register. All
offenders within the city are compliant
with the requirements of the Ontario Sex
Offender Registry.
The St Thomas Police Service was
audited by the Ontario Sex Offender Registry late 2010. Feedback was positive and
the final report is expected sometime in
2011.
reports. These specialists are experienced
investigators who work collaboratively to
ensure their conclusions are reasonable.
The National ViCLAS Police Centre, part
of the Behavioural Sciences Branch of the
RCMP, establishes and monitors policy,
procedures and standards regarding the
submission and analysis of crimes. This
work is done to continually improve law
enforcement’s ability to link crimes of violence and identify those responsible for
these crimes. The Police Services Act
mandates all Police Services to make
ViCLAS submissions for specified offences
such as homicides, sexual assaults, nonparental abductions, missing persons
where foul play is suspected and other
serious offences. The St. Thomas Police
Service policies go beyond the mandated
criteria to include all criminal harassment
and other occurrences that exhibit a pattern of inappropriate sexual behaviour eg.
Indecent acts.
Intelligence Units conducted 17 Controlled Drugs and Substance Act search warrants as well as 9 Criminal Code search
warrants resulting in the following
statistics:
Cash value of drugs seized: ...... $312,484
Seized Guns: ..........................................2
Cash seized: ................................ $13,604
Seized Vehicles: ......................................5
Total Arrests: .................................... 80
Total Charges: ................................. 192
Incidents Of Note:
In February, a male and a female were
arrested during a vehicle stop on Flora
Street. Found in the vehicle was 10.5
grams of cocaine. The vehicle was seized
and forfeited to the Province of Ontario.
2010 ViCLAS Statistics
Offences
Submissions
Homicide.................................................. 1
Attempt Homicide ................................... 0
Sexual Assaults ...................................... 30
Unidentified Body ................................... 0
Missing Person......................................... 0
Child Luring/Attempt Luring ................. 0
Child Pornography .................................. 0
Non-parental Abduction ......................... 0
Non-Criteria offences............................ 17
A subsequent search warrant conducted
at 11 Wolfe Street resulted in two additional arrests. Seized from the house
were 5 grams of cocaine, 3 grams of Psilocybin, 260 grams of marihuana, 1 gram
of methamphetamine, 12 ecstasy pills, 2
bags with trace amounts of cocaine.
In May, two males were arrested for
trafficking a large amount of oxycodone
at the rear of 575 Talbot Street. As a result,
$2,850 worth of drugs were seized as well
as a 2010 Dodge Pickup was seized and
forfeited to the Province of Ontario.
In May, a search warrant was conducted at 24 Inkerman Street. One male
was arrested for the production of marihuana and 252 marihuana plants were
seized. These plants had a street value of
$252,000.
SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS TEAM
Domestic Violence
By Senior Constable Katherine McNeil
In 2010, officers responded to 580
(602 in 2009) reportable incidents
involving domestic violence occurrences. Of these, 103 (131 in 2009) were
incidents resulting in charges being
laid.
Domestic Violence is defined as “any”
use of physical or sexual force, actual or
threatened, in an intimate relationship.
This also includes emotional and/or
psychological abuse and harassing
behaviour. Domestic Violence is not
gender exclusive although the overwhelming majority of this violence
involves men abusing women.
The St. Thomas Police Service works
vigorously to investigate incidents of
domestic violence. Police responding
to incidents of domestic violence lay
Intelligence Unit
The mandate of the St. Thomas
Police Service Intelligence Unit is to
collect, analyze and disseminate criminal intelligence information to police
ser vice personnel and other law
STPS Annual Report 2010
21
charges in all incidents of domestic
assault where there are reasonable
grounds to do so. Officers employ specialized training and skills when dealing with domestic violence to ensure
support and safety to the victims and
their children. Domestic violence
investigators utilize this training mandated by the province to assist them
with these sensitive, emotional and
often volatile situations.
The St. Thomas Police Service is a
member of the Elgin Alliance to End
Violence Committee, a community
resource partnership that has representatives from groups such as Violence
Against Women’s Services, Victim Services, Elgin Second Stage Housing, Family and Children’s Services, Crown
Attorney’s office, Probation & Parole,
Elgin St. Thomas Health Unit, St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital, Elgin
Association for Community Living,
YWCA, Four Counties Health Services,
Ministry of Community and Social Services and West Elgin Community Health
Centre. This alliance was instrumental
in developing Elgin’s first Domestic Violence Court Advisory Committee in
2004, which is responsible for reviewing
and monitoring domestic cases presently before the courts.
The St. Thomas Police Service is also
a founding member of the newly
formed Elgin High Risk Assessment
Reduction Team. This group has representatives from Violence Against
Women Services, Crown Attorney’s
Office, Probation and Parole, OPP and
the Aylmer Police Service. This group
meets once a month to discuss high risk
domestic offenders and how to best
manage them in the community and
offer support/safety for their victims.
enforcement agencies throughout the
Province. The Intelligence Unit works
closely with the Criminal Investigations Branch and the Drug Unit assisting with the investigation of serious
and organized crime offences, investigations where information is gathered
through front line officers, the use of
confidential informants and Crime
Stoppers.
The St. Thomas Police Service Intelligence Unit is also a contributing
member of the Criminal Investigation
Service of Ontario (CISO).
Forensic Identification
Services Unit
Identification officers and Scenes of
Crime officer’s specialized skills are
usually called upon for more complicated investigations such as arsons,
break and enter, assault, motor vehicle collision, and thefts. The Identification section also works closely with
members of the Criminal Investigation Unit to assist with the investigation of major cases such as homicides,
sudden deaths, sexual assaults, robberies and frauds.
Three (3) Identification Officers and
seven (7) Scenes of Crime officers
assist investigating officers by conducting specialized tasks such as taking crime scene photographs and videos; locating and gathering physical
evidence, comparing and examining
fingerprints and footwear impressions. In most cases, the use of DNA
collection and identification is an
investigative tool where a suspect can
be identified in an investigation where
there are no leads. DNA samples are
routinely submitted to the Centre of
Forensic Sciences for examination
and results have been used in the
Forensics Identification Officer Constable James Fast.
i d e n t i f i c a t i o n a n d c o nv i c t i o n o f
suspects.
Forensic Identification Officers are
also trained to take DNA blood samples from convicted offenders which
are submitted to the National DNA
Databank where profiles are created,
stored and compared against evidence
seized from crime scenes. In 2010,
fifty-eight (58) DNA samples were
obtained by the St Thomas Police
Service adding to the total of 424 samples in St. Thomas since the databank
was created in July 2000.
22 STPS Annual Report 2010
Crime Stoppers
By Senior Constable Katherine McNeil
The success of St. Thomas Crime Stoppers is the direct result of a unique partnership between the Community, the
Police and the Media. As in the past, 2010
proved to be an exceptionally positive
year, both statistically and publicly.
St. Thomas Crime Stoppers is one of 38
programs in Ontario. A member of the
Ontario Association of Crime Stoppers
and Crime Stoppers International, our
program is proud to represent this community in the fight against crime. This
not-for profit organization gives each and
every citizen the right to provide information regarding criminal activity anonymously without fear of retribution.
Crime Stoppers guarantees that a tipster
will never have to reveal their identity or
testify in court. Crime Stoppers has been
recognized by the Ontario Association of
Chiefs of Police, the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, the International
Association of Chiefs of Police and Interpol as being one of the most successful
community programs in gathering information that assists in solving crime.
The month of January is Crime Stoppers Month. This year’s theme was Helping to Stop, Solve and Prevent Crime –
Together. An annual Appreciation Dinner
was held in mid January to recognize and
honour the many community businesses
that supported the program in 2009.
The success of Crime Stoppers is threefold. Without the commitment and diligence of its partners - the Community,
the Police and the Media - Crime Stoppers would cease to exist.
St. Thomas is represented by a group of
extraordinary citizens who volunteer
their time and efforts to serve as Crime
Stoppers Directors. The Board is responsible for a wide range of the program’s
facets including the operating budget,
fundraising, public awareness and education. The program’s success is a reflection of their dedication and commitment
this past year. The 2010 Board of Directors included Dan Dale, Georg Bisanz,
Kelly Payne, Grant Hughson, Wayne
Ward, Jim Malik, Brian Slaght, Lynne Riddell, Brian Leverton, Dan Reith, Colleen
Burns and Jim McHarg.
The St. Thomas Police Service continues to be paramount to the success of the
program by providing the Police Coordinator and the office space within headquarters to run its’ day to day operations.
The information provided by Crime Stoppers tipsters is only as good as the police
SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS TEAM
personnel who receive the tips and St.
Thomas is fortunate to have dedicated
police officers who actively pursue the
investigative leads provided by tipsters.
Last but certainly not least is the partnership with the Media. In 2010, our
partners in print, television and radio
media played an integral role in promoting the program by covering fundraising
events, crime re-enactments and weekly
publication of crimes directly affecting
our community through “Crime of the
Week” postings. Constable Katherine
McNeil also appeared twice on the new
Rogers TV program ‘Inside Elgin’ to promote Crime Stoppers.
St. Thomas Crime Stoppers continued
to actively participate in training conferences in 2010. In June, the Ontario Association’s training conference and the
Ontario Legal Issues conference were
held together in Windsor. Dan Dale and
Constable McNeil attended and Crime
Stoppers of St. Thomas received two
awards - a Media Award for Best Special
Feature Coverage of Crime Stoppers in
the Television Media – in relation to Constable McNeil’s appearance on Rogers TV
show Inside Elgin to discuss the Crime
Stoppers program; and the second prestigious award “Civilian of the Year” was
presented to a most deserving, St. Thomas Crime Stoppers 10 year Board Member, Mr. Georg Bisanz. Constable McNeil
attended the International Conference in
Nova Scotia where Crime Stoppers of St.
Thomas received three awards - a Productivity Award for “Greatest Increase in
Total Property Recovered” and two Media
awards. Rogers TV’s program Inside Elgin
won for Best Television Special Report/
Feature and Astral Media won for the
Best Crime of the Week Appeal on the
Radio.
Fundraising events in 2010 included a
Murder Mystery called ‘Sorry, Wrong
Murder’ in February. This mystery was
written and directed by Board Member
Georg Bisanz. Our Second Annual Golf
Tournament was held in May at the St.
Thomas Golf and Country Club, raising
almost $8,000. The annual “Bail or Jail”
was held at Wal Mart in September raising more than $16,000.
The “School Crime Stoppers” program
continued to be a major endeavour this
year. Constable McNeil attended every
senior elementary school and one of the
high schools to encourage the school
populations to utilize Crime Stoppers to
help keep their schools safe.
Crime Stoppers continued to be
involved in various community events
Constable Katherine McNeil
including the Lions Club Cruise Night in
June, the Iron Horse Festival in August,
the Fire Muster Labour Day Weekend
and the Santa Claus parade in
November.
In April 2008, the St. Thomas Crime
Stoppers program launched the ability to
accept anonymous tips on line at www.
stthomascrimestoppers.ca allowing tipsters to use the Crime Stoppers web site
or the St. Thomas Police web site to submit a tip online. Sixty-six (66) web tips
were received in 2010, up from 50 in
2009.
2010 Statistics
Number of Calls ...................................31
Arrests ...................................................15
Cases Cleared ........................................ 9
Rewards Paid ........................... $ 2,750.00
Recovered Property ................. $ 6,685.00
Recovered Narcotics ............. $ 30,125.00
Since Inception
Arrests ................................................. 807
Cases Cleared ................................... 1033
Rewards Paid .......................... $13,880.00
Recovered Property .......... $3,472, 270.00
Recovered Narcotics ......... $7,113,586.00
STPS Annual Report 2010
23
We welcome your
positive feedback
about the St. Thomas
Police Service. Please
feel free to contact us
with your comments.
Non-Emergency Phone Number
519.631.1364
Business Office Number
519.631.1224
Email : [email protected]
www.
We are here stps.
to help. on.ca
St. Thomas Police Service
Organizational Chart 2010
Please visit our
website for more
information about
the St. Thomas
Police Services.
ST. THOMAS
POLICE SERVICE
30 St. Catharine St.
St. Thomas, Ontario
Canada N5P 2V8
Police Services Board
Civilian Administrator
Chief of Police
Deputy Chief of Police
Inspector
Inspector
Staff Sgt.
Support
Services
Public Complaints
Support Services
Crime Prevention
Community Relations
Court Services
Staffing
Health & Safety
Staff Sgt.
Staff Sgt.
Staff Sgt.
Staff Sgt.
Sgt.
Sgt.
Sgt.
Sgt.
A Platoon
B Platoon
C Platoon
D Platoon
In-Service Training
Formal Training
STD/LTD
Information
Technology
Special Events
Professional Standards
The Police Services Act Part V
mandates that all Police Services
maintain a Public Complaints Bureau.
Uniform Patrol
C.I.B.
Drugs
Intelligence
Clerks
Staff Sgt.
Sgt.
Criminal
Investigations
Identification
Crime Stoppers
Sex Offender
Registry
Communicators
Filing a Complaint:
Contact St. Thomas Police Services or write to:
Ontario Civilian Commission on Police Services
25 Grosvenor Street, 1st Floor, Toronto, Ontario M7A 1Y6
EMERGENCY CALL 911