Stratford Police have identified over twenty ‘prolific offenders’ in our area.
Stratford Police Chief Greg Skinner told the Police Services Board meeting this week that the tracking of the offenders is part of using data, analytics, and technology to put together an overview of individuals who are most likely to come into contact with the law.
He says someone who falls in the prolific category is an individual who has demonstrated violent tendencies, has been in contact with police multiple times within the calendar year, and has been charged with multiple criminal offences.
Skinner says 22 people accounted for 252 significant interactions with police over the course of the last calendar year, 17 males and five females.
He says they range in age from under 16 to over 60 and many had either used or were in possession of a weapon during the interactions, most often knives.
Several also had mental health issues, addictions, or were diagnosed with behavioral issues.
Chief Skinner says it’s important that officers have information because, over the past year, there were six officers killed on duty while responding to “seemingly routine calls” and who met up with violent offenders.
He adds they also want to make sure that Crown prosecutors have complete, accurate, and up-to-date information on an offender’s history when they are attempting to prosecute and recommend sentences.
Chief Skinner adds they also want to make sure they are promoting support services for individuals with the goal to reduce future breaches of the law and promote rehabilitation, promote meaningful consequences for offenders, ensure appropriate monitoring when they are on judicial release conditions and ensure appropriate collaboration between different levels of the law.