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Pleased with the success of an innovative crime-fighting and social services mission launched last summer in the Glengarry neighbourhood, Windsor police have now set their sights on another troubled downtown apartment complex.
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The Windsor Police Service said Wednesday that officers, along with community partners, have targeted an Ouellette Avenue highrise complex on the downtown’s south side for their next “high-visibility initiative” to deliver support to residents.
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“As we launch this cross-sectoral initiative at 920 Ouellette, I look forward to building stronger connections with residents and supporting our health and human services sector colleagues in the neighbourhood so they can do their jobs safely,” said Chief Jason Bellaire.
“These outcomes are only possible when we use modern strategies to address modern challenges, and I am grateful for the dedication of our members and community partners.”
The new project follows a similar initiative started last summer in Windsor’s Glengarry neighbourhood on the downtown’s east side. In the first two months of that enterprise, police said reports of violent crime dropped by nearly 19 per cent and drug crimes declined almost 38 per cent.
Windsor police officers partnered with Family Services Windsor-Essex and the Canadian Mental Health Association to establish a dedicated office space at the 333 Glengarry Ave. apartment complex.
Police said 920 Ouellette is also a source of frequent calls. But 75 per cent of those are for non-criminal issues such as well-being checks, ambulance assistance requests, and non-violent people in crisis.
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The new initiative is aimed at equipping health and human services providers to appropriately respond to those situations at Ouellette Manor and freeing up police to respond to more urgent calls across the city.
The Problem-Oriented-Policing (POP) Unit began clearing the way for community partners Monday and Tuesday with a “focused enforcement initiative” to deal with crime and disorder in the building.
Police said officers executed two arrest warrants for charges of drug trafficking and assault.
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Next up will be a needs assessment in the building later this week with the Nurse-Police Team, a partnership with Windsor Regional Hospital, and the Crisis Response Team, a partnership with Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare.
Windsor police said officers will continue to have a presence at 920 Ouellette, and will enlist support from additional community partners starting in January.
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