The Windsor Police Service is working to address what officials call one of the top places for violent crime in the city by stationing officers inside one downtown apartment building.
In early August, officers began regular patrols inside Wheelton Manor, and police will now be stationed inside the apartment building at 333 Glengarry Ave., right at the corner of University Avenue East.
Four to eight officers will be involved in providing dedicated policing in the building.
The effort will also include community partner organizations on site in the building to help provide wraparound services for those living there and in the neighbourhood.
Superintendent of Investigations Paolo DiCarlo says they want people to feel safe in the Glengarry neighbourhood and that having the officers and services in the building is about having real time response and support.
"Being inside the building, because it's one of our top locations for violent crimes, just makes sense to house our officers and wraparound services and partners inside so people can get those; if they are residing there and need help, the services are a lot faster," he says.
The Windsor-Essex Community Housing Corporation provides affordable community housing in several buildings along Glengarry.
"There's that component of it, but also the people that do reside there that are causing issues; it's not just the people that are not supposed to be there," he says. "The entire building is something we're trying to focus on and make sure that people that are supposed to be there are supposed to be there and living safely. The people who are not supposed to be there and causing the issues are out."
DiCarlo says Glengarry is the only place where police have dedicated officers inside a building.
"It is a new strategy that we're looking at; it's one of those things we're trying to focus on—the real-time response but also the real-time services. It's really about the applying of law is one thing, and I think there's other components that we're also looking to to make sure everything is covered from all spectrums of what we're talking about," he says.
On Aug. 20 and 21, members of the Problem Oriented Policing Unit, or POP Unit, partnered with the Windsor Essex Community Housing Corporation on an operation to support community safety at apartment buildings in the 300 block of Glengarry Avenue.
Over the course of two days, officers made 24 arrests and laid 48 charges ranging from weapons to assault, arson, and theft.
On August 1, police arrested two people as part of an over $31,000 drug bust in the 300 block of Glengarry Avenue.
On July 16, 12 people were charged in connection with the alleged abduction and torture of three people, including one man who was taken to an apartment building in the 300 block of Glengarry, where he was tortured with numerous weapons, including a taser and an industrial torch.
This past February, a fire inside the apartment complex at 333 Glengarry Ave. resulted in nearly 50 people being forced into temporary accommodations.