By Cecilia Nasmith/Northumberland 89.7 FM/Today’s Northumberland
It’s not often that Chief Paul VandeGraaf reports on sporting events at Cobourg Police Services Board meetings, but the March meeting was an exception.
Previous weeks had seen two such events, each one supporting a good cause, each in its second annual outing.
Most recently, their members had participated in a very chilly Polar Plunge in support of Special Olympics, raising $25,906.
And about a week prior, their best hockey players had taken on challengers from the Cobourg Fire Department at the Cobourg Community Centre for the Battle of the Badges. More than 1,000 people turned out for the game, and they raised $9,076 for Big Brothers-Big Sisters.
VandeGraaf’s monthly report on their Warrant Apprehension and Bail Compliance initiative showed 11 bail-violation arrests and arrest warrants issued for 14 wanted individuals (six of whom were returned to other police jurisdictions).
The interesting thing about this, he said, is that these numbers are relatively consistent month after month.
“It’s something significant in the Province of Ontario, not just here in Cobourg,” he noted.
One of them was a Cobourg man wanted for theft, who was found with two knives, some pills, about 47.5 grams of fentanyl and Canadian currency. A day later, officers executing a search warrant on a weapons call found replica firearms, bladed weapons and drugs.
An enhanced presence was established downtown with additional foot patrols in key locations at targeted hours. VandeGraaf described this work as “a lot of homeless in vestibules, alcoves, laying trespass charges where appropriate.”
They performed 74 property checks, 54 of them at the county’s homelessness shelter at 310 Division St.
“We are currently working at engaging with the county to see where we can continue to address safety concerns for everyone involved in that particular area,” VandeGraaf said.
A significant achievement is bringing back their Selective Traffic Enforcement Program, which has a different focus every month. Most recently, it’s having the appropriate documentation in the car (primarily registration and insurance documentation). While there are significant penalties for failure to do so, officers are offering amnesty for the time being to allow motorists to arrange to get what’s needed.
And for those motorists found to be in compliance, a Tim Hortons reward was given.
