Windsor Police Launch High-Visibility Initiative At 920 Ouellette

Windsor Police has launched a high-visibility initiative at the 920 Ouellette Avenue apartment complex and is working with community partners to deliver critical support to building residents.

Police say that they receive frequent calls at this location; however, approximately 75% of calls are non-criminal in nature (including well-being checks, ambulance assistance requests, and non-violent persons in crisis). This initiative aims to equip health and human services providers to appropriately respond to non-criminal situations in the building, while freeing up police to respond to urgent calls across the city.

The initiative kicked off on December 16th and 17th, when the Problem-Oriented-Policing (POP) Unit conducted a focused enforcement initiative to address crime and disorder challenges in the building. The enforcement initiative resulted in the execution of two arrest warrants (for charges of drug trafficking and assault), and paves the way for community partners to safely provide wrap-around services to residents.

Later this week, our Nurse Police Team (a partnership with Windsor Regional Hospital) and Crisis Response Team (a partnership with Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare) will conduct a needs assessment in the building. Officers will continue to have a sustained, meaningful presence at 920 Ouellette and will enlist support from additional community partners beginning in January 2025.

“As we launch this cross-sectoral initiative at 920 Ouellette, I look forward to building stronger connections with residents and supporting our health and human services sector colleagues in the neighbourhood so they can do their jobs safely,” said Chief Jason Bellaire. “These outcomes are only possible when we use modern strategies to address modern challenges, and I am grateful for the dedication of our members and community partners.”

This project follows the launch of a similar initiative in Windsor’s Glengarry neighbourhood this past summer. In the first two months of the Glengarry initiative, reports of violent crime and drug crime in the area dropped by 18.7% and 37.5% (respectively). Officers also partnered with Family Services Windsor-Essex and the Canadian Mental Health Association to establish a dedicated office space at the 333 Glengarry Ave. apartment complex.