Over the 5 years of publishing Oakville News, Halton Regional Police has often been accused by some of only handing out speeding tickets. A bit harsh, but what is the reality? Often the police issue press releases about an incidents. These incidents are often asking for the public's assistance. They do not cover everything that is happening in our town.
This week, a man was shot to death. The police issued a press release asking for information, in particular surveillance footage. The community will help, if at all possible.
However the public is aware of only a fraction of Police activity in Oakville. The police provided a list incidents for August, September, and October 2017. The numbers provided are a close approximation. Incidents are coded at the beginning of a call, and can change once an officer attends the incident. The initial code may not be changed once the information is completed.
Here is the list and the corresponding numbers:
|
August |
September |
October |
Total |
||||
|
|
Tickets- |
Warnings |
Tickets- |
Warnings |
Tickets- |
Warnings |
|
|
Distracted Driving |
80 |
35 |
163 |
50 |
73 |
10 |
411 |
|
Speeding |
244 |
201 |
392 |
142 |
384 |
54 |
1,417 |
|
Stunt Driving |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
Total |
324 |
237 |
555 |
192 |
457 |
64 |
1,829 |
|
Occurrences for Oakville (August - October 2017) |
||||
|
Occurrence Type |
August- |
September- |
October- |
Total |
|
Sexual Assault |
9 |
7 |
6 |
22 |
|
Assault |
28 |
46 |
47 |
121 |
|
Break & Enter - Shop |
7 |
8 |
4 |
19 |
|
Break & Enter - House |
21 |
23 |
29 |
73 |
|
Theft Over $5,000 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
8 |
|
Theft Under $5,000 |
36 |
49 |
37 |
122 |
|
Mental Health |
110 |
106 |
97 |
313 |
|
Vehicle Accident - Property Damage |
185 |
213 |
238 |
636 |
|
Vehicle Accident - Person Injured |
34 |
41 |
29 |
104 |
|
Hit & Run |
50 |
43 |
58 |
151 |
|
Impaired Driving |
8 |
10 |
8 |
26 |
|
Total |
490 |
548 |
557 |
1,595 |
Regarding speeding tickets, 397 people received warnings, not tickets. Distracted driving violations accounted for 25 percent. Distracted driving is a major problem in Oakville, even with the amount of publicity, $495 fines and the loss of three demerit points. Nine percent of calls dealt with assault or sexual assault. Mental health calls made up 19.6%.
Major crimes do exist in our community; and yet Oakville is one of the safest communities in the country. The Halton Regional Police do a great deal more than hand out speeding tickets. They keep us safe.
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