Chatham-Kent police (CKPS) are reporting a significant rise in police interactions with youth.
The 2023 annual report by the Community Patrol Branch shows an increase in the number of youth charged and the number of charges laid last year compared to 2022. The CKPS data shows 111 youth were charged in 2023 compared to 36 the previous year, totalling 224 charges laid compared to 81 during the same period.
The top crimes involving youth in 2023 include assault, sexual assault, assault with a weapon, mischief, and threats.
"October 2023 saw 25 area youth charged with criminal offences, which was the most observed in any month of the year," the report stated.
The report also states that calls to deal with youth across the municipality in 2023 jumped by 42 per cent compared to the previous year. Police said they responded to 2,118 youth occurrences last year that range from criminal, to non-criminal, to missing persons or habitual runaways.
Police also said the youth committing crimes are getting younger with the age dropping from 14.9 years of age to 14.5 between 2022 and 2023.
"CKPS investigated a break and enter, in which two 9-year-olds caused significant damage. Police also investigated an arson in which all three suspects were under the age of 12-years-old," the report stated. "Chatham-Kent faces significant challenges with youth; more are displaced, coupled with a lack of resources and waitlists to support families in crisis."
The patrol report also showed that male interactions with police are more prevalent than female interactions with female interactions a couple of per cent lower than 2022 to 26.6 per cent last year.
Police said the increases indicate a need for more youth related services to keep youth out of jail.
They also note that the police youth officer attends schools on a regular basis and continues building relationships with the schools.
The information is going before the Police Services Board on Wednesday.
