Windsor police charge public drug users despite uncertain prosecution outlook

Windsor, Ont. police are now arresting people for open drug use in public, reversing years of inaction. Prosecution outcomes remain uncertain under a 2020 federal directive.

Windsor police restart drug possession arrests amid prosecution uncertainty

Windsor, Ont. police officers have resumed arresting and charging individuals found openly using illegal drugs in public, cbc.ca reports — a shift from years of largely looking the other way.

Deputy Chief Ken Cribley said the force changed its internal directive this summer following sustained public criticism. "We've heard the concerns loud and clear," Cribley said. "The question's been asked: 'Why can we see people openly doing drugs and a police car drove right by them?' That's been criticism we've received for the last year or a number of months."

Police had long held the legal authority to lay simple drug possession charges, but stopped routinely doing so after 2020, when the Public Prosecution Service of Canada (PPSC) instructed federal lawyers to avoid pursuing such cases unless they were considered among "the most serious." With prosecution unlikely, Windsor officers had little incentive to make arrests.

That calculus is now being tested. "We've met with our Crowns and not every Crown attorney agrees to start laying charges for simple possession, but we've started to do that," Cribley said. When asked how local prosecutors are responding to the uptick in charges, he acknowledged the outcome is uncertain: "That remains to be seen."

The force says it is monitoring results closely. "We will be tracking the numbers. We're doing a project on it. We're laying the charges, we're keeping stats and we're going to see how many make it through the courts," Cribley said.

Windsor police have also pointed to their Nurse Police Team (NPT) — which pairs an officer with a hospital nurse to engage vulnerable individuals on the street — as a parallel approach to the issue. Cribley said people arrested for open drug use are still connected with support services through that program. "Maybe not every time we're making an arrest, but in those cases too, our NPT will be there. We also have police who ride with social workers," he added.

Former police chief Jason Bellaire, who helped develop some of those community-oriented initiatives, is set to receive an award of excellence in innovation at the upcoming inaugural Windsor police chief's gala.

How many of the new possession charges will result in convictions — or even reach trial — remains an open question as the PPSC directive from 2020 has not been rescinded.

Source: Google News CA — Crime (EN)