Tag: Crime

Police Responding to Public Concerns about Demonstrators

John Draper

Cobourg Police seem to now be responding to complaints from the Public about demonstrators not following the same rules as everyone else.  At a Press conference today (see video below), Chief Paul VandeGraaf, Police Board Chair and Mayor John Henderson re-iterated that they are now enforcing the rules.  Last Saturday, seven offenders got tickets and two got Court summons for obstructing Police.  When asked why now and not earlier, Chief VandeGraaf said that it was his decision. Police attempts to educate were being ignored and people were refusing to comply.  He said their behaviour was bordering on criminal. Mayor Henderson commented that he had received a large number of calls wanting enforcement and he communicated that to the Chief.  It… Read complete articlePolice Responding to Public Concerns about Demonstrators

Update on Cobourg Police

John Draper

In the midst of the pandemic, criminals continue to do their stuff and Police continue to catch them.  I don’t have statistics on comparative crime rates between 2019 and 2020 but based on what I’ve heard, they seem to be about the same.  Some Police reports say that a wanted person was observed and arrested and one wonders if the observed criminal was wearing a mask since that would make them more difficult to identify – but they perhaps are amongst those who object to wearing a mask!  There’s a wide range of criminals but most crimes are relatively minor – see a sample from the past week below. To see the full range, you can also see the Crime… Read complete articleUpdate on Cobourg Police

Provincial Grant supports Police CCTV expansion

John Draper

D’Arcy street was closed around noon on Friday while an announcement was made outside the Venture 13 facility.  The Provincial Government announced a grant of $200,000 to Cobourg Police to implement CCTV for their “Next Generation Community Safety Strategy”.  The grant covers 50% of the cost of the project which will integrate CCTV cameras installed by the Town and private businesses plus some new ones.  The location of some of the new ones will not be disclosed.  The idea is to improve public safety since if criminals know they will be caught, they are less likely to offend.  The announcement was made by Solicitor General Sylvia Jones with supporting remarks by Mayor John Henderson, MPP David Piccini, Police Services Board… Read complete articleProvincial Grant supports Police CCTV expansion

Cobourg Police busy despite Covid-19

John Draper

You have to wonder about the intelligence of criminals – if you look at crime statistics, many don’t keep probation or other promises so they end up back in jail, they repeatedly offend so get known to Police and some don’t show for Court appearances. Why do they push their luck?  And why does the virus not seem to keep them inactive? Below is a summary of crimes reported by the Cobourg Police over the last 10 days or so – if you look at them together, you start to see a few things: Many offenders are repeat as shown by their failure to comply with probation requirements. Police seem to be good at noticing them on their patrols, there… Read complete articleCobourg Police busy despite Covid-19

Police Launch Online Reporting System

John Draper

On the 4th of March, Cobourg Police Chief Paul VandeGraaf had an open house where he answered citizens’ questions (see link below) and in response to a request for “e-reporting”, the Cobourg Police web site now has an Online Reporting Portal.  Intended for non-urgent minor crimes, it allows citizens to report crimes like bullying, damage to property, lost property, thefts from vehicles, theft of gas, theft under $5000 and traffic complaints – there’s more detail below.  If it’s an emergency, call 911; or if you witnessed who did the crime (you know who the “suspect” is), then call the Police directly at 905-372-6821.  Motor vehicle accidents are not included – they should continue to be reported to the Collision Reporting… Read complete articlePolice Launch Online Reporting System

Shooting Victim at Hospital

John Draper

At around 10:45 Tuesday morning (24 March), a car delivered an “adult male” suffering from a gun-shot wound to the Northumberland Hills Hospital Emergency department.  Police were called and are investigating.  Their statement says that “this incident is being investigated by members of the Criminal Investigations Bureau, assisted by members of Uniform Patrol, Forensic Identification Services and Special Constables.  The investigation is in the early stages and investigators believe that this was not a random incident.”  The victim is reported to have “serious but non-life-threatening injuries”  And “the location of the shooting is unknown at this time.”  A photo is being circulated of the car that it’s believed dropped off the man – see below. Because of the crime, the… Read complete articleShooting Victim at Hospital

Update from Cobourg News Blog

John Draper

The news scene in Cobourg has been dominated lately by the Covid-19 Virus epidemic and simultaneously Cobourg News Blog is experiencing technical problems so comments are mostly not possible. The Covid-19 page is being updated several times per day as things happen – but some people wait for the news email so this post provides a summary for them. With many of the businesses on King Street now closed (primarily Restaurants and bars), and others heeding the call to stay home, parking is easy and it’s easy to achieve the recommended social distance.  Lineups (e.g. at a bank) are short.  Last Thursday and Friday, supermarkets (and their parking lots) were crowded with people buying toilet rolls and hand sterilizer so they are… Read complete articleUpdate from Cobourg News Blog

Coffee with the Police Chief

John Draper

On February 19 Police Chief Paul VandeGraaf issued an invitation to have coffee with him at the Dutch Oven on Wednesday evening, March 4.  Then on February 20, he issued a statement that “Members of the Cobourg Police Service including Officers, Auxiliary Officers, Special Constables and Volunteers will be present throughout the Downtown core on foot for extra visibility.” (See link below). The Dutch Oven event turned out to be mostly a public Q & A session where Paul (he prefers to be called Paul) explained his view of what’s happening in our Town.  His focus was on Downtown (King, Covert, Albert) and the area near Transition House but other concerns were also addressed.  The session was scheduled for 5… Read complete articleCoffee with the Police Chief

Police Budget – 2020

John Draper

The good news is that the Police budget request is $6.27M for an increase of 1.09%.  The bad news is that the Town is legally only allowed to take it or leave it with no line by line veto allowed.  That also means that the submitted budget will stand unlike the other departments whose budgets will be scrutinized closely and chopped to get the overall total down to the 1.9% target.  But there’s more good news: the Business Services department is doing well and is not only self-sustaining but contributes to reserves used for Police Capital purchases, $2.9M expected in 2020.  Chief Paul Vandegraaf also spoke about his “pivot” to evidence based policing: that is, measuring results and directing effort… Read complete articlePolice Budget – 2020

Neighbours Unhappy with Transition House Usage

John Draper

Alyson King and Grace Lovekin made an emotional plea to Cobourg Council on Monday 25 November to do something about the problems that have happened Downtown and around the Transition House location at 10 Chapel Street since it reopened.  Instead of being a true transition house for people temporarily without a place to stay, when it re-opened in October 2018 it became a “low-barrier emergency shelter”. Alyson said that “since it has reopened, the neighbourhood has experienced increased and recurring problems with public drug use, people sleeping outdoors, verbal abuse and intimidation, disruptions day and night including physical altercations, theft, and break-ins. While Transition House may not be the “cause” of these problems, it is clearly associated with them as… Read complete articleNeighbours Unhappy with Transition House Usage