POLICE SAY MORE CHARGES A GOOD THING

Drug possession charges are up in Stratford, but that has a lot to do
with an increased emphasis on getting narcotics off the streets, says
Stratford police Chief Gerry McEwin.

A recent Canadian Press study suggested Stratford's drug possession
charges have nearly doubled from 2000 to 2007, based on figures pulled
from provincial courthouse records.

Chief McEwin doesn't dispute that drug charges have increased, but the
Canadian Press study doesn't offer explanation. For instance, the city
police force has dedicated more officers to the drug unit in recent
years, leading to more arrests, charges and ultimately convictions in
the courts.

Local figures cited by The Canadian Press also include provincial
police charges in Perth County and Stratford charges by city police
because they are all dealt with in our city's courthouses.

Perth County Crown attorney Denis Harrison said more charges often
means police are doing their jobs. "I certainly haven't noticed an
increase in crime or violent crime."

The Canadian Press analysis suggests violent crime such as assault and
robbery as well as use of drugs and weapons have become serious and
growing concerns for smaller communities over the seven-year period
study. Attorney General Chris Bentley said statistics collected by his
office reflect the total number of charges laid in each incident, not
the number of incidents police record.

"The bottom line is police are doing a good job, crime is down on the
street, violent offences are down but the number of charges is up for
different reasons," said the attorney general.

"Somewhere in those seven years the crimes have peaked but over the
last two to three years many violent offences such as assault have
started to decrease in Stratford," said Chief McEwin. Stratford Police
use Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) statistics which are specific to
this jurisdiction, and forwarded to Statistics Canada, Chief McEwin
said .

Based on those figures, violent crimes decreased from 2006 to 2007.
Weapons charges, which have nearly doubled over seven years in
Stratford according to Canadian Press, actually dropped last year as
compared to 2006, Chief McEwin said. On the other hand, property
crimes are up, including break and enters to homes, businesses,
garages and sheds. The year-to-year statistics are more reliable and
more realistic to the issues facing police services. Violent crimes,
including assaults and other concerns such as drugs and weapons, are a
part of smaller communities and no longer only the concern of big
cities, Chief McEwin said.

"We tailor our police resources to the challenges and demographics of
our community."

An increased drug presence, as mentioned, led to more emphasis on
getting drugs off the streets. "Sometimes more charges can be seen as
a good thing if it makes an impact at the street level."