ERIN – Wellington County OPP presented its 2024 year-end report at the Erin council meeting on May 22.
Interim detachment commander Karen Medeiros described last year as “a great year for us … very busy as usual.”
Wellington County OPP welcomed seven new recruits to the force last year, as well as three new experienced officers.
Crime unit
The crime unit had a successful year, identifying a long unknown woman, as well as laying additional charges in the 2019 Jason Brown homicide.
In the latter case, one man was charged with first degree murder and conspiracy to commit indictable offence and a woman was charged with first degree murder, kidnapping, obstruction of justice and possession of property obtained by crime.
In 2005 human remains were discovered off of Highway 7 between Rockwood and Guelph. It was determined the death was suspicious, and police began an investigation.
“Through genealogy it was determined that we could find the identity of the person that was found,” said Medeiros.
A family member’s DNA was used to confirm that the deceased female was Tammy Eileen Penner of Chilliwack, BC.
The crime unit was involved in 70 sexual assault investigations. In January, the unit began investigating an unknown offender for sexual assault. Through a video canvass and production orders for telecom companies and social media platforms, a suspect was identified and charged in May of 2024.
“Science and technology are actually really helping us solve a lot of our crimes and helping us with our investigations,” said Medeiros.
The OPP also recovered several stolen vehicles, including three stolen vehicles from a storage yard in the south end of Wellington County.
“In the south end of Wellington, especially in this area here (Erin), there’s been a lot of recovery of stolen vehicles,” said Medeiros.
Traffic
“I know traffic is a big concern for a lot of our residents for safety,” said Medeiros.
She told council the force has been deploying “black cats” in areas of concern to the community. The monitoring devices look at the speed of vehicles over time to determine whether or not the area is a location of concern.
According to the report, the following roads have been deemed areas of concern:
– Wellington Road 8, Goldstone, in Mapleton;
– Sideroad 18 in Centre Wellington;
– Gore Road, Puslinch;
– South Street, Elora between David Street and Salem;
– Indian Trail, Guelph/Eramosa;
– Simpson Street, Alma, between Wellington Road 7 and north of Raglan Street;
– Wellington Street North, Drayton;
– Concession 11, Wellington North;
– Wellington Road 32, Puslinch;
– Lake Road, Puslinch;
– 8th Line, Centre Wellington; and
– 1st Line, Centre Wellington.
“Wellington Road 22 continues to be a problem,” added Mederios of the county road that runs all the way through Erin.
“We laid 30 charges on Wellington Road 22.”
Community response unit
In 2024, community response unit officers laid 32 Criminal Code charges, one drug charge and 44 provincial offence charges.
The Offender Management and Apprehension Program (OMAP) began the year with seven offenders being monitored in the community.
The number increased to a high of 31 persons out of custody being supervised by police. December concluded with 26 offenders being monitored.
Officers conducted 179 compliance checks on these persons, ensuring compliance, and arresting those found not abiding by court conditions of release.
According to the report, a total of 208 warrants are still active in the community, with 285 warrants being executed last year.
In 2024 the county OPP received 41,247 calls for service, compared to 38,416 in 2023 and 34,564 in 2022.
Of the 41,247 calls last year:
– 2,533 were traffic related;
– 2,379 were for police assistance;
– 2,072 were vehicle collisions;
– 1,497 were for police information;
– 1,101 were suspicious persons or vehicles;
– 1,019 were for intimate partner violence;
– 798 for community service;
– 705 at RIDE programs;
– 668 for theft; and
– 624 for mental health occurrences.
