WELLINGTON – Fatal motor vehicle collisions jumped to to 18 in 2023 from 11 the previous year in Wellington County.
According to the County of Wellington's OPP year-end report for the police services board committee, although many call categories experienced decreases last year, the overall calls for service were higher than expected and finished at 11 per cent higher than last year.
It's anticipated the trend will continue in the coming year.
| Category | 2022 | 2023 | Percentage Increase |
| R.I.D.E | 287 | 674 | 135 per cent |
| Police Information | 1075 | 1330 | 24 per cent |
| Suspicious person/vehicle | 884 | 1023 | 16 per cent |
| Domestic disputes | 787 | 880 | 12 per cent |
| Mental Health occurrences | 640 | 706 | 10 per cent |
In terms of violent crime calls for service, the county saw 33 per cent and 27 per cent increases in criminal harassment and assault cases compared to 2022.
The report also found a 195 per cent increase in traffic occurrences including motor vehicle conditions enforcement activities during 2023 – increasing to 835 from 283 in 2022.
Traffic complaints increased 15 per cent while race and stunt driving increased 27 per cent.
However, speeding offences decreased 13 per cent from 3,642 in 2022 to 3,162 and impaired driving decreased 71 per cent from 216 in 2022 to 62.
The full report is available here.
Isabel Buckmaster is the Local Journalism Initiative reporter for GuelphToday. LJI is a federally-funded program.
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