Nearly 100 people have been arrested in Windsor, Amherstburg, and LaSalle over the past year by a unit formed to monitor, track, and arrest repeat and violent offenders who violate their bail conditions.
The Offender Management Unit, launched on March 11, 2024, is a partnership between the Windsor Police Service and the LaSalle Police Service and is staffed by three full-time officers, one part-time officer, and a civilian crime analyst.
Since being launched almost a year ago, the unit has arrested 94 individuals, including eight sureties.
In 2025 alone, the unit has made 22 arrests, including five sureties, laying a total of 43 charges.
Windsor Police Constable John Saul is in the unit and says they're very busy ensuring there are no bail condition violations.
"They can happen at any time, and that's why we're always out working; we're keeping an eye on these offenders 24 hours a day, seven days a week, just making sure they're following the rules. It's non-stop for us in the office," he says.
Saul says before the provincial grant, there wasn't a specific unit focused on bail-related offences.
"We're pretty proud of the work that we do and making sure that all these offenders are following their conditions," he says. "They're placed on strict conditions by the court for very specific reasons. Obviously, it varies per individual, but we take great pride in ensuring they are following all of those conditions and doing what we can to keep our community safe."
Saul says the sureties arrested are the indivuduals who agreed to supervise an accused person while they're out on bail and make sure that person complies with release conditions.
"We found through our investigations that the sureties themselves are the ones who make it possible for the offender to fail to comply or breach the conditions of their release order," he says. "We found that they're not doing their job as a surety and allowing these offenders to breach and break the promise they make to the court."
If a surety is charged, along with facing a Criminal Code charge before the court, they may also face a financial penalty in the form of the money they pledged as part of the bail conditions.
The individuals being monitored are under house arrest, curfew, or electronic monitoring and were initially charged with or convicted of serious violent crimes, including murder, attempted murder, human trafficking, sexual assault, aggravated assault, and firearms offences.
The unit is currently monitoring 139 people out on bail in Windsor, Amherstburg, and LaSalle.
The 94 arrests in the first year of the unit include a drug trafficking suspect on the run for nearly two years and a suspect arrested for violating his bail conditions twice in a six week span.
To report an individual who is not complying with their release conditions, please contact Windsor Police at 519-255-6700.
You can also contact Crime Stoppers anonymously at 519-258-8477 (TIPS) or online at http://catchcrooks.com.