OTTAWA: Windsor sees substantially more arrests per capita for drug importing and exporting-related offences than anywhere else in the country, according to a report from Statistics Canada.
The statistics agency released a report looking at drug-related offences in Canada.
Statistics Canada reported that Windsor had a very low rate of general drug offences, as compared to other cities across the country.
But when it came to drug import and export offences, Windsor’s census metropolitan area had a rate of 78 incidents per 100,000 populations. The next highest in the country was in Toronto, where 10 such incidents were reported per 100,000 people living in that city’s metropolitan area.
Statistics Canada found that this leading rate was “partially related” to the existence of the Ambassador Bridge.
Asked about the data on Thursday, Windsor police Chief Al Frederick acknowledged the border’s significant role in driving drug smuggling-related activity.
“I think there is a little bit of discrepancy based on the fact that it is a CMA, so it is a metropolitan area, rather than just Windsor proper. So it does include neighbouring communities in those statistics, so that’ll skew the numbers a little bit,” he told CBC News.
“There’s no question that the border is a major conduit to narcotics entering all of Ontario.”
Frederick said police seek to prevent drugs from entering the community.
The chief believes the lower rate of general drug offences is a testament to the approach that police have taken in trying to cut off the flow of drugs coming in and out of the area.
Dr. Tony Hammer, a doctor who practices addiction medicine at the Erie-St. Clair Clinic, said that drug-related issues can’t be solved by law enforcement alone.
“Their job is particularly difficult. I think the reliance on enforcement alone to counter the drug problem, we know that it doesn’t work very well,” he told CBC News in an interview on Thursday.
“I think that what we need is education, in addition to the law enforcement,” he added.
