By Cecilia Nasmith/Northumberland 89.7 FM/Today’s Northumberland
Chief Paul VandeGraaf reported at the November Cobourg Police Services Board meeting that impaired driving is up, not only in number of incidents but in severity of intoxication.
Calling the level of intoxication “more and more severe,” VandeGraaf added numbers on impaired charges laid – from 13 in 2022 to 16 in 2023 to 17 in 2024 on a year-to-date basis.
They are gearing up for the education-and-awareness Festive Ride program, he said, and they will be supporting Operation Red Nose.
Concern over violent crime has often been voiced at police board meetings, but VandeGraaf’s figures show incidences of violent crime – defined as any crime where physical or verbal threats of violence are made – are trending down over a five-year span. Assault cases are trending down slightly less, but domestic violence cases seem to be holding steady.
Violent crime went from 319 incidents in 2020 to 274 in 2021, 227 in 2022, 296 in 2023 and 214 to date in2024.
Assault cases went from 203 in 2020 to 153 in 2021, 104 in 2022, 129 in 2023 and 121 year-to-date in 2024.
Domestic violence cases went from 29 in 2020 to 16 in 2021, 30 in both 2022 and 2023, and 22 year-to-date in 2024.
