The Windsor Police Service is reporting a significant decrease in the amount of time officers need to wait in a hospital when they take a person to the emergency department.
Over the first seven weeks of 2025, the average time for a patient transfer was just 13 minutes-a 40 per cent improvement over the same time last year.
The dedicated officer program, a partnership with Windsor Regional Hospital, is getting the credit for reducing turnaround times for officers.
The program, launched in 2023, stations dedicated police officers directly at the Windsor Regional Hospital's Ouellette Campus to lower person-in-crisis transfer times so that patrol members can get back on the road and respond to other urgent calls.
Before the program was launched, officers averaged between 3 and 11 hours with each person in crisis that had to be admitted to the emergency department.
Since launching the initiative, the average time for person-in-crisis transfers has decreased by over 35 per cent.
The police service says the program's success has enabled the Windsor Police Service to reinvest the time officers would have otherwise spent in the emergency department and improve our priority one response time. This strategy also provides an ability to focus on other important issues, including auto theft and retail crime.
"We're getting officers back on the road and responding to priority one calls faster than we have in years, all while ensuring vulnerable individuals receive the care and support they need," said Windsor Police Chief Jason Bellaire. "By managing existing resources and thinking differently, our members are delivering impactful, data-driven results that speak for themselves."