Crime was up in York Region this year, according to York Regional Police's annual statistics report for 2022.
The region officials released the report this week, which includes crime statistics and trends from York Region. The report notes the crime rates increased to or exceeded the pre-pandemic levels of 2020 and 2021. There was also an increase of 9.7 per cent in total incidents reported to York Regional Police, of which 52.8 per cent were criminal.
“Almost all types of crime increased after the pandemic slowdowns but there were concerning trends in weapons violations, thefts of vehicles, hate crime and non-criminal fatal overdoses,” the release said. “These patterns are on our radar and we are working with our policing partners and stakeholders to ensure safety and well-being for our communities.”
York Region’s crime rate in 2022 (excluding traffic violations) was 3,688.25 per 100,000 people, with a rate of 962.95 crimes against persons and a rate of 2,130.18 crimes against property. The traffic violations rate was 409.30 incidents per 100,000 people.
In 2022, there was a 22.1 per cent increase in crimes against persons with a 43.8 per cent increase in violations causing death. Overall, there were 11,935 crimes against persons, 23 of which resulted in death. There were 1,063 sexual violations, a 33.5 per cent increase from 2021.
There was a 17.3 per cent increase in crimes against property from 2021 to 2022. In total there were 26,402 crimes against property, including 10,695 theft under $5,000, 3,829 theft over $5,000, and 1,797 breaking and entering in 2022.
In 2021 there were 490 weapons violations with that number jumping to 963 in 2022, marking a 96.5 per cent increase while drug violations dropped 31.3 per cent from 1,624 in 2021 to 1,115 in 2022.
This past year saw an increase of 17.8 per cent of traffic violations from 2021. There were 5,073 traffic violations in total with 602 being dangerous operations and 1,593 stemming from impaired operations/related violations. There were also 11,902 reported motor vehicle collisions in 2022, a 35.5 per cent increase from the year before; 28 of the collisions were fatal and 31 people were killed as a result of motor collisions in 2022.
The statistics report also provides a look at trends in each municipality (note that the numbers for Newmarket include charges laid at the Newmarket Courthouse which don’t speak to violent crime, but to court operational procedures).
Newmarket had the highest crime rate in York Region with 6,491.53 incidents per 100,000 people (excluding traffic incidents).
Of the 6,491.53 incidents per 100,000 people, there was a rate of 1,405.97 crimes against persons with 2.19 violations causing death, 163.03 sexual violations, 622.57 assaults, and 609.44 robbery and other violent violations.
There was a rate of 2,412.58 crimes against property per 100,000 people in Newmarket, with a rate of 1,012.08 theft under $5,000, 150.99 theft over $5,000, and 124.73 breaking and entering.
There were also 131.3 drug violations per 100,000 people and 86.44 weapons violations per 100,000 people in Newmarket.
Georgina was the only municipality with a higher rate of crimes against persons (1,828.29) than Newmarket and Vaughan was the only municipality with a higher rate of crimes against property (2,737.42) than Newmarket.
Traffic violation rates were at 400.46 per 100,000 in Newmarket in 2022, fourth highest in York Region behind Vaughan (552.83), King (545.34), and East Gwillimbury (408.87).
The annual report also includes police success stories from 2022.
“You will find stories of heroism; diligent, ongoing work dismantling organized crime groups; continuing efforts to educate and protect our community from fraud and theft; new programs that better connect our people with our residents; and improved effectiveness through advances in technology,” says the message in the report from Chief Jim MacSween.
A major change for York Regional Police in 2022, was the opening of the District One headquarters in Newmarket (429 Harry Walker Pkwy. S), now home to 200 sworn and civilian members to serve a population of over 200,000 across Newmarket, Aurora, East Gwillimbury, King Township and small portions of the north border of Vaughan and Whitchurch-Stouffville.
The report highlights the success of frontline and criminal investigations unit officers in the five districts across York Region, including the arrest of a street-level drug dealer in a Vaughan neighbourhood, the rescuing of 16 abused puppies after a fraud and animal cruelty investigation in Markham, taking guns and drugs off the street in Richmond Hill following a traffic stop, and arresting three violent offenders in connection with a home invasion in Georgina.
In 2022, York Regional Police specialty units cracked down on the increase in auto thefts and carjackings with Projects GTA and Touchdown, making more than 60 arrests and recovering 200 stolen vehicles worth $18 million. Also solved was a nine-year-old cold case, charging a suspect in two sexual assaults in York and Peel. And York Regional Police continued to lead its policing partners in joint-forces operations like Project Entrust, which dismantled a $1.7 million drug and gun trafficking network that extended across Ontario.
Another accomplishment for York Regional Police in 2022 was the launch of the connected officer program to modernize day-to-day law enforcement activities and increase opportunities for greater community engagement. The program allows officers to share and access information electronically, through newly issued smartphones. Officer notes, witness statements and evidence are now captured electronically, reducing administrative time in an effort to keep frontline workers in the community and not in the station.
York Regional Police’s annual statistics report can be accessed by the public here and the annual report here.
