The Cobourg Police Services Board held their monthly meeting on Tuesday, December 19, 2023 at Venture13.
Although the meeting itself isn’t recorded or broadcast, the Chief’s Update is available on YouTube.
It was during the Chief’s Update that members of the Board can ask questions.
Councillor Adam Bureau asked Chief VandeGraaf about people taking illegal drugs at various locations including bus shelters or taking drugs in public.
Bureau asked what happens if the officers comes upon a person doing illegal drugs?
VandeGraaf said the the charge would be possession, but the Provincial Prosecutor’s decision is not to charge for any “simple possession.”
‘In our cases, more times when we stumble upon somebody at the bus shelter, the drugs are already gone. Obviously if we find people with drugs, those drugs will be seized and destroyed. But more times than not, those drugs have already been used – they have been smoked or whatever – if we see them at all.”
Which means that police can seize deadly illegal drugs like fentanyl, but just cant charge criminally for simple possession.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
