Sarnia’s Police Chief says he’s disappointed the service was left out of a $24 million investment from the province to tackle bail enforcement, as the city continues to grapple with a disproportionate amount of repeat offenders. “It’s disappointing — and I’m not taking away from other communities’ needs,” Chief Derek Davis said of a recent […]
Sarnia’s Police Chief says he’s disappointed the service was left out of a $24 million investment from the province to tackle bail enforcement, as the city continues to grapple with a disproportionate amount of repeat offenders.
“It’s disappointing — and I’m not taking away from other communities’ needs,” Chief Derek Davis said of a recent announcement naming the recipients of the Ontario government’s Bail Compliance and Warrant Apprehension (BCWA) Grant program. “But I would be remiss if I didn’t say that we have significant needs here.”
The funding, aimed at helping police services establish dedicated bail compliance and/or warrant apprehension teams to monitor high-risk individuals, will also support new technology for a province-wide bail compliance monitoring system, the province says.
The Sarnia Police Service (SPS) applied to the grant back in August — for the maximum $1.2 million in funding available for each service.
The Solicitor General’s office announced the $24 million in funding to be shared over three years among some two-dozen police services and OPP detachments, but Sarnia didn’t make the cut.
Nearby services in Chatham and London were awarded the full $1.2 million each.
“We have a CSI (Crime Severity Index) in the top 25%, we are a ‘hub city,’ our jail is here, our courthouse is here, our social services are here… and while many people benefit from all those services, there is certainly a smaller group that commits a disproportionate amount of crime — and that’s the group we’re talking about,” Davis explained.
A much needed bail compliance team, Davis said, would be dedicated to monitoring high-risk and repeat offenders — those committing crimes and violating bail at disproportionally high rates in Sarnia.
“We are talking about high-risk recidivism, repeat offenders, who have been through every warning and off-ramp and every other opportunity,” he said pointing to more than 1,400 recidivism-related criminal charges in 2023 alone, up 41% from 2022.
“If they’re complying with the rules, that’s great — it keeps people safer, it prevents people from being victimized, and it allows them their time to have their due process before the court.
“That type of police activity requires resources… so, that proactive police activity is limited right now, because we don’t have the resources,” he said.
Davis said they’ll continue to apply for grants and is hopeful for more advocacy.
“Any assistance we can get form our local leadership or county representatives doesn’t hurt,” he said.
“Now we’ve got to go back to the drawing board.”
