THUNDER BAY – NEWS – The Ontario Provincial Police are sharing some pretty shocking statistics today. Impaired driving charges are up 47 per cent and distracted driving is up 71 per cent.
Statistics over the past five years for violent crime and property crime occurrences show that our year-to-date calls for service have slightly increased with violent crime up seven per cent across the region, for a total of 2,042 occurrences with a 77 per cent clearance rate. Property crime is up three per cent, for a total of 2,343 occurrences with a 32 per cent clearance rate. Clearance rates mean that the criminal matter has been solved and has been cleared by charge, warning, etc.
The OPP investigates a number of motor, off-road, marine vessel, and motorized snow vehicle collisions every year across the region. Collisions investigated can be classified as one of three; fatal, personal injury, or personal damage. Over a five-year span, stats show that on average, Northwest Region has responded to:
· Roadway – nine fatal collisions, 143 personal injury collisions, and 1,327 property damage collisions
· Off-Road Vehicle – one fatal collision and 12 personal injury collisions
· Marine Vessel Incidents – one fatal collision, one personal injury collision, and one property damage collision
· Motorized Snow Vehicle – one fatal collision, eight personal injury collisions, and seven property damage collisions
To date, officers in Northwest Region have responded to:
· Roadway – seven fatal collisions, 138 personal injury collisions, and 1,620 property damage collisions
· Off-Road Vehicle – eight personal injury collisions and five property damage collisions
· Marine Vessel Incidents – six fatal collisions and one personal injury collision
· Motorized Snow Vehicles – 10 personal injury collisions and nine property damage collisions
Focusing on traffic across the region, the OPP is committed to ensuring safe highways through a variety of traffic initiatives that take place throughout the year. Enforcement efforts from the front-line continue to reflect positively on the Northwest Region. Over the past five years, the region has laid an average per year of 17,213 charges in relation to our “Big Four” focus. Year-to-date numbers indicate that charges for the following violations are up region wide:
· Speeding – 23 per cent increase;
· Seat belt non-compliance – 91 per cent increase;
· Impaired Operation – 47 per cent increase; and
· Distracted Driving – 71 per cent increase.
As the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) in Northwest Region are expanding their commitment to providing exceptional forms of communication in a variety of different ways to give citizens an inside look at the work the OPP do.
“The OPP is committed to providing responsive services that meet the needs of our communities. We have to engage, listen, and learn in order to do that. Our obligation is to work with and support our partners. Our responsibility is to translate what we learn into actions that make NWR safe and secure for our citizens and those who visit. That responsibility is something our entire team works tirelessly to achieve. We are committed to sharing more of what we do, and who we are, in order to keep everyone aware of what is happening in our region,” states OPP Chief Superintendent, Bryan MacKillop.
In a media statement, the OPP Northwest Region says, “We have travelled throughout Northwest Region and met with media partners in virtually every community to understand how to best provide meaningful information about topics important to them in formats that resonate.
“We heard you, we have recently hired a new Regional Media and Communications Coordinator who will be dedicated to improving our content and increasing our presence on all main social media platforms. We will be sharing more content highlighting your communities, our members, their stories, and our unique lifestyle in the north”.
“It is important that our citizens are informed and have general knowledge on the matters ongoing within their communities. Northwest Region is committed to keeping you informed by providing relevant statistics on a regular basis. This includes stats on violent crimes, property crimes and other trends throughout the region. With a region consisting of thousands of kilometers of roadways, we want our citizens to know what proactive enforcement measures are being taken to keep your highways safer. We will highlight our enforcement of the ‘Big Four’ offences that cause collisions – alcohol/drug impaired driving, distracted driving, speeding, and lack of occupant restraints. To provide context, we will endeavour to provide information comparing past years, as well as the clearance rate of those crimes”.
