Crime in Windsor decreasing

By Sean Previl

Robberies in Windsor are on the rise, but other thefts are decreasing.

While Windsor Police Service are reporting robberies have increased from 13 robberies in January 2012 to 19 in January 2013, CrimeReports.com shows incidents of breaking and entering has decreased from 196 to 137 in the past two months.

Public information officer Sgt. Matt D’Asti said it has decreased because the WPS is committed to keeping the city safe.

“Our primary goal is ensuring the safety of our citizens and we are definitely proactive in our approach of enforcement,” said D’Asti.

D’Asti also said the people of Windsor are the eyes and ears for the police and ask they report any suspicious activity. He said it’s important to have more than one person protecting their homes and businesses.

Kim Chu, owner of Ray and Kim’s Super Convenience said the store works to always have multiple eyes in the business.

“We have (the two way mirror) so we’re in close proximity to each other,” said Chu. “We can see what’s going on in the store on top of the cameras and security we have.”

Chu said the two-way mirror is also helpful because the second employee can call police without being seen, should someone attempt a robbery.

Crime Reports also reported the number of thefts from vehicles decreased by 40 per cent from 272 to 193 in the past four months.

D’Asti said the issue with Crime Reports is not all thefts go reported because people don’t always consider small thefts important.

“Even things that are petty things, we want people to call us,” said D’Asti. “We can then put that into our computers and it will be part of that data.”

However, some Windsorites said they don’t see the point in reporting small, petty crimes.

“I don’t think people believe that police would care about a small theft like that,” said Joe Bondy, a St. Clair College student. “So they just let it go and take better precautions.”

D’Asti said the most important thing is to always take precautions when dealing with any of their possessions. According to D’Asti, people should lock up their homes and garages before leaving, keep their eyes out for suspicious activity around them and not leave valuable items in plain view in their vehicles.