The 2021 annual report to be presented to the Barrie Police Services Board this afternoon paints a picture of the times.
The increasing influence of technology is apparent right across the force as it polices the city.
The pandemic first forced a suspension of most activities in 2020, which then gave way to a very quick move to remote work. And that included court hearings.
City police attended 613 in-person sessions in 2021, but 94 per cent of in-person court appearances were made through a virtual platform.
Technology also proved integral in helping to solve crimes.
The force’s technological crimes unit tapped into video captured by security cameras across the city.
Officers made 30 requests to access closed-circuit television (CCTV) system video footage captured in downtown Barrie. Barrie’s downtown video surveillance camera system, consisting of 21 cameras, has also recently undergone an upgrade.
Officers also seized CCTV footage from businesses 250 times in 2021 and examined 45 residential videos.
Last year, the force launched a voluntary security-camera registry for residents and business owners, allowing officers to know the location of cameras in case footage is needed for a particular investigation.
Barrie police also took advantage of its ability to access a view from the sky. Six trained operators with Barrie police flew the service’s drones for 21 operational flights and seven training flights to assist in fatal crash investigations as well as in the search for missing people and other investigations.
Last year, its Aeryon SkyRanger R60 drone came to the end of its life with the manufacturer ending its support. It was replaced with the help of a grant.
In terms of getting the word out to people, social media has also proven more useful in the service’s efforts to communicate urgent messages.
With an increase in the numbers of followers of the police force on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, police have also circulated information on programs and partnerships. Members of the public can also help investigations by sharing posts or responding to them.
The annual report’s criminal investigations statistical highlights also showed the lowest clearance rate in three years for property, violent and other Criminal Code offences.
For property crimes, including break-ins, thefts, fraud and mischief, Barrie police cleared 30.1 per cent of the cases, down from 35.2 per cent in 2020 and 40.5 per cent in 2019.
The clearance rate for violent crime — which includes assault, homicide and robbery — last year was 77.1 per cent, below 80.6 per cent in 2020 and 78.4 per cent in 2019.
In 2021, 925 assaults were reported to Barrie police, an increase from 909 in 2020 and 828 in 2019.
Sexual assaults also saw an uptick to 250 from 221 in 2020 and 225 in 2019.
The other crimes category takes in everything from child pornography to bail violations and obstructing justice. It had clearance rates of 83.4, 88.9 and 89.9 per cent in 2021, 2020 and 2019 respectively.
While Barrie experienced its first homicide in three years in November, there were four fatalities on city streets in 2021.
A motorcycle driver was killed in a collision near the intersection of Yonge Street and Lockhart Drive last June.
An 88-year-old pedestrian was struck and subsequently died in March near Georgian College.
Also in March, a 23-year-old Springwater Township man was killed in a collision at Highway 400 and Cundles Road East.
In November, a fiery collision on Duckworth Street, north of Georgian Drive, claimed the life of a 69-year-old Richmond Hill man. His vehicle had struck the southeast corner over the Highway 400 overpass.
