Police are putting a greater focus on laying charges for open drug use in Windsor.
Thursday’s Windsor Police Services Board meeting heard that drug crimes are up 32 per cent as of the end of August 2026 compared to the same timeframe in 2025.
The increase is due in part to police putting more of a focus on simple possession charges, including those for open drug use.
Deputy Chief Ken Cribley says the issue is that things like opioid addiction are largely seen as an addiction or health issue as opposed to a criminal issue.
He notes that during the COVID-19 pandemic, prosecutors had conveyed they were unlikely to pursue those types of cases.
Cribley says they’ve met with the Crown Attorney’s office, but not everyone agrees with laying charges for simple possession.
“We’ve started to do that. We’ve listened to the members of our community and understand the concerns. The direction is clear: if one of our officers sees somebody in our community openly using drugs in public, they’re going to stop and arrest them and lay a charge,” he says.
As part of the renewed focus, the police service is monitoring what’s being done, tracking the numbers and watching how many of the cases actually make it through the court system.
Cribley says it’s all about trying to get that message out there that this is not acceptable.
“We have some other initiatives coming in the coming weeks. We’re going to do an exchange program with London police; we’re going to be in London helping them with their downtown core because in London, they’re experiencing the same issues, and then London’s officers are coming here to Windsor. We’re going to be out there monitoring the situation and laying the charges where we see them,” he says.
Despite the increase in charges, Cribley adds that it’s still a serious issue for addiction or health services.
“We’re still connecting people with the services that are out there, but in many, many cases, we’re going to have a summons with it to attend court.”