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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1980-04-09, Page 3Still down from 1975 Crime up five per c� BY JOANNE BUCHANAN Crime increased in Goderich during 1979...but only by five per cent, according to the annual report prepared for the town by Goderich Police Chief Pat King. Some off the increase last year, he says, is being attributed to more co-operation on the part of many citizens who reported crimes as they occurred. Goderich can still boast a healthy 13 per cent decline In crime since 1975. Crimes against property (break and enter, thefts, mischief and wilful damage) rose from 375 offences in 1978 to 449 offences in 1979. A breakdown of these crimes shows breaking and entering up 31 per cent, thefts of motor vehicles up 163 per cent and all other thefts up 13 per cent. Chief King says bicycle thefts and the a thefts of articles from motor vehicles .remain problems. A total of 73 bicylces were reported stolen in 1979 and there were 59 separate thefts from motor vehicles. About 95 per cent of these latter thefts could have been prevented had the motorist locked his vehicle, jnaintains the Chief. Seldom, if ever, he says, has a vehicle been forced open in order to steal from it. In the case of bicycles being stolen (usually "borrowed" as a means of transportation from point A to 13), about 90 per cent are eventually located but seldom is the culprit found. All the motor vehicles stolen last year in Goderich were recovered. Shoplifting amounted to 12 offences during the year, up 25 per cent from the previous year and Chief King says, it is obvious that this is a crime that is not easily detected or reported to police when it is known. MISCHIEF AND WILFUL DAMAGE Chief King. points.. out 'that the problem of mischief and wilful damage has been given special attention as it is a nationwide problem. The Solicitor General of Ontario has given special priority to steps to try and curb these acts of wanton destruction of public and private property, he says. The problem in Goderich is also a number one priority but unfortunately this type of of- fence is a most difficult problem to stop and, when it occurs, to solve, he continues. "Usually there is no motive for the offence. For this reason there are usually no leads for police to begin working with. Majority of of- fenders, when caught, freely admit they bore no malice against the owner. "These acts are usually done on the spur-of- the-moment hence, no worthwhile predictions can be made as to where they may occur. Prevention thus becomes a problem:" Over the past six years, there have been 792 incidents of vandalism in Goderich involving $56,625 damage, for an annual average of $9,437.50. Of these incidents, 249 have been cleared or solved. The local policy is to lay charges in all cases of vandalism and to press for restitution by the culprits. Vandalism is broken down into two categories: mischief -where the damage caused is in excess of $50; and wilful damage -where damage caused is less than $50. Last year $13,559 damage was done by vandals in Goderich, costing -taxpayers an average of $I01.18 per incident: In 1979, $160,361 worth of property was stolen of which $124,390 was recovered. CAR ACCIDENTS During 1979, as in previous years, the two greatest causes of accidents locally were inattentive driving and not adjusting driving to road and weather conditions. Of the drivers involved in accidents, 13 per cent had been drinking alcohol. Goderich police investigated a total of 257 motor vehicle accidents in 1979 with 58 of them occurring in December and January. Fifty-four persons were injured in these accidents but there were no deaths. Over the past six years there have only been two fatal car accidents in Goderich out of a total of 1,614 investigated. Two hundred and eleven persons have been injured. There were 257 motor vehicle accidents in. Goderich in 1979 as compared to 255 in 1978. Chief King was happy to report that Halloween '79 was another quiet season. Police kept a very high profile and were assisted by the Auxiliary Condtables who patrolled with regular officers. The Circle City CB Cltib again did their own patrolling and were ready to report incidents to police. Chief King says he attributes the peaceful Halloweens of late to high police visibility; warnings that any offenders will be dealt with by„ charges; assistance from the citizens at large; absence of some hard-core trouble- makers who craved an audience; and the good attitude of citizens generally, especially the teenage and early twenties groups. In 1979 there were only four criminal offences on Halloween night as compared to eight in 1978 and 25 in 1974. DRUG AND LIQUOR OFFENCES Drug offences dropped 41 per cent in 1979 but Chief King says this does not necessarily in- dicate a corresponding decrease in drug abuse locally. It simply means, he says, that persons using and carrying drugs are taking greater precautions against getting caught. Undercover officers from other forces -are the best means of combatting drug peddling but this cannot be done due to greater demands from other areas, says Chief King. It is vir- tually impossible for any member of the Goderich police department to go undetected in drug investigations," even in plainclothes, as, in a small community, the police are well-known by sight, he says. Liquor offences, having risen 27 per cent in 1978, dropped almost 26 per cent during 1979. Again, points out Chief King, these seizures do not indicate such a dramatic drop in the use of alcohol locally. Persons are aware of the constant vehicle checking done by the local police, making it more difficult for police to, find offenders, he says. He also maintains that greatly increased fines for liquor offences have accounted for some of the decline. JUVENILES The number" of juveniles persons under 16 years) coming to police attention for com- mitting crimes increased by 13 per cent in 1979. Of the 127 juveniles dealt with, 117 were boys and 10 were girls. Chief King says it can clearly be seen that a few juveniles may commit numerous offences usually in some form of "spree". OCCURRENCES Chief out .,t, at often, because the police department is one of the few local agencies open 24 hours every day, it receives calls which are social rather than police problems. Police deal with these by first calming the callers down and then referring them to some other agency or person who can best deal with their problems. However, these types of occurrences in- creased six per cent during 1979 and of the many types of incidents covered in this section, domestic disputes rose by 32 per cent, an unhealthy sign says Chief King. THE SQUARE Chief King devoted a special section of his report to the policing of The Square. He says this centre of our community has Chief Pat King... reports 13 per cent decline been the source of several critical comments by Police Commission members, some councillors and merchants in, the past several'years. The fact that police have not been seen as often on footbeat as they -were a few years ago, has also been criticized. Locally, says Chief King, our situation has changed insofar as crime or other non -criminal incidents are concerned. Crimes, incidents and complaints are not centered around The Square as some people imagine, he says. "Our incidents are occurring all over town and a map of our incidents would look like a shotgun blast --scattered everywhere. "If we concentrate on The—Square, we are citicized by those who live or maintain stores elsewhere intown. The Square does get more than adequate police patrol despite the fact we do not have constant foot patrol." Chief King says he maintains a more mobile type of policing, especially since those com- mitting crimes are very mobile themselves. In 1979, he says.. there were no actual break and enters on the Square ; only eight per cent of all criminal offences reported occurred on The Square; only three per cent of all occurrences which were investigated took place on The Square; and only eight per cent of all mischief and wilful_damage was onThe Square__ _ Almost °all of the unnecessary slow driving Carole Sutherland & Ann Hinz ANNOUNCE THEIR NEW OFFICE HOURS Now in effect 9 A.M. - 5 P.M.: MONDAY -FRIDAY 9 A.M. - 12 NOON: SATURDAY ONTARMOT(1n Inc F waPltJ wide ranv(t A(E J v 7 RATTENBURY EAST, CLINTON 482-9300 GODERICH 'S1GNAL•STAR,.WEDI SDA It,APRA, Z', 1 ,w 'a IR 3 .. 1Iairbon r 1Q1L°1.,". *a BY RON GRAHAM �. Qn March a1• the Agawa Canyon from Sarnia arrived lilht and opened the harbor. The Algorail from Bay City arrived light on April 2. On April 6, the Algorail from Kenosha arrived light.. The Agawa cleared on April 1 with salt for Thunder Bay. On April 2, the Algorail cleared for Milwaukee and Kenosha and. on April 6 the other Algorail boat left for Ferryburg, Michigan. The grain boat, 14.C. Heimbech r cleared light on March 30 for Chicago. April 5, the Sac Ste. Anne cleared light for. Thunder Bay. A total of 73 bicycles were reported stolen in 1979, according to Police Chief Pat King's annual report. About 90 per cent of the bicycles stolen (usually occurs on The Square by virtue of its circular street pattern but police have increased this type of enforcement, says Chief King. It is interesting to note too, he says, that only 26 per cent of the complaints received from citizens regarding unneccessary noise by a vehicle occurred on The Square. Chief King concluded that the policing of this area is adequatte in relation to the incidents occurring there and patrolling is keeping this at a low level. COMMUNICATIONS : SYSTEM _ ...: Chief,.King also included a special section in his report on the -Huron Municipal Police Communications System which became operational in April of 1979 providing 24-hour dispatch service to five Huron -County towns: Clinton, Exeter, Goderich, • Seaforth and Wingham--serving a population of 18,833. The system is comprised of nine police cruisers, 14 portable radios, four dispatchers and one head dispatcher. It was installed with the,Provincial.Gover- nment paying 75 per cent of the cost. The five towns combined to pay the other 25 per cent. Each paid the remaining costs for their respective equipment (mobile and portable radios). The commom equipment housed in each of the five towns, plus equipment at Blyth "borrowed" as a means of transportation from point A to B) are eventually located but seldom is the thief found, says Chief King. (Photo by Dave Sykes) UN 'DRIED T 11110', zotint Alis 2}i,r i„n� *,, •. r, ��,� bdt and the Goderich Detatchment, O.P.P., was shared on a per capita basis by the towns. Ongoing costs --salaries, benefits, etc. --are also paid on a per capita basis. For 1979 the per capita breakdown was Clinton -I6 per cent; Exeter -18 per cent; Goderich-38 per cent; Seaforth-10 per cent; and Wingham-15 per cent. This per capita basis equals the percentage of calls received by citizens of the five towns very closely. Since operation began in April of 1979 until December 31, 1979 a total of 6,905 calls were received (all calls are recorded on tape). Clinton receiv'ed 1157 calls (16 per` cent); Exeter 12186 (18 per cent) ; Goderich 2717•(39 per cent) ; Seaforth 826 (11 per cent) ; and Wingham 919 (13 percent). In addition, several hundred telephone enquiries which did not require police action were answered by the dispatch staff The system provides the five police forces with an up=to-date communications system so that the public may be better served. Police officers have also benefitted by being attatched by their radios and are never out of touch with the radio operator. There have been numerous ..incidents since' the system commenced operation when the ability for each police force to hear the same message simultaneously has resulted in closer co-operation and in some cases, quicker ap- prehension of offenders, says Chief King. W.J. HUGHES REALTY LTD. 38 EAST ST., GODERICH MEMBER BROKER Saturday, April 12, 1980 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. Your host - Don - evenings 524-4226. H-15.7 • Saturday, April 12, 1980 2:00 - .4:00 p.m. Your hostess - Alfredo - evenings 524-4226. S-152. 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