A recent OPP update about criminal activity in the township was mostly good News for residents.
“Mapleton is an extremely safe place to be … and you should be very proud to live in a community like this,” OPP Staff Sergeant Scott Smith told council on July 22.
Smith began his presentation by explaining the county OPP detachment, at the request of OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino, launched a new results-driven policing policy in 2007 aimed at violent crime, property crime, and traffic offences.
The county leads all provincial OPP chapters in the number of traffic charges laid, Smith said, including the most racing charges (driving 50 km/h over the speed limit).
Mapleton Township accounts for about 6% of all the detachment’s service calls – the lowest of any municipality in the county.
“Mapleton seems to go in spurts,” Smith said, particularly referring to property crime, though he is unsure why that is the case.
Break and enters and auto thefts are down slightly over the last three years, while other thefts and mischief showed no change.
OPP calls for mental health issues were down by 45% in Mapleton, which Smith said is great considering county-wide calls are up by 3%. And while domestic calls were up by 57% in Wellington County, there was no change in Mapleton Township.
Sexual assaults in the township tripled from 2005 to 2007 (from two to seven) and other assaults were also up from nine to 13 over that time frame. But Smith said it’s too early to know if that represents a trend and he stressed the numbers are still relatively low.
It wasn’t all good News for Mapleton, however.
Motor vehicle collisions were up by about 9% in Mapleton from 2005 to 2007 – double the increase for the county.
And impaired driving was up 150% in Mapleton, while the county increase was about 11%. Smith said that’s one increase he can’t understand, given all the risks associated with drinking and driving and the successful RIDE programs commonly set up throughout the county.
He added he hopes the recent decision to increase suspensions (from 12 hours to 72 hours for those with 0.05 to 0.08 blood-alcohol levels) will help deter people.
Thefts from vehicles are up by 35% across the county, but by 133% in Mapleton. Smith told council this is another area that baffles him, seeing as most of the thefts are from unlocked vehicles. He said police continue to urge residents to “lock it or lose it.”
But overall, Mapleton is a very safe place to live, Smith stressed.
The township averages about one violent crime per 1,000 population, while for the county that number is four. For property crime, Mapleton has about nine incidents for every 1,000 people, while the county figure is 22.
Councillor Bruce Whale asked if there is one particular group that is more often among the speeders and impaired drivers found in the county.
Smith replied the offenders are from both genders, all age groups, all financial classes, and are as likely to be residents of the county as they are to live elsewhere.
He gave an example of one woman, well into her 50s, who was caught driving 50km/h over the speed limit on one of the worst days last winter, when the weather was so bad many local roads were closed for much of the day.
Mayor John Green said he is very pleased to hear the good News for Mapleton and thanked Smith for the presentation.
