Criminals Not Welcome in Peel

Violent crime has been on the rise in the GTA. We hear it in the news, see it on social media and talk about it with others in the community.

This spike in violent crime has not gone unnoticed by Chief Jennifer Evans who is reminded of this daily by the number of firearm casings she keeps on her desk, representing shots fired from 2014 to present day.  

However, Chief Evans and Peel Regional Police aren’t willing to accept this current trend and are fighting back.

So far this year Peel Regional police have responded to over 178,154 calls for service in the first nine months of 2018. In that time there were 86 shooting occurrences. 

When it comes to battling gun crime our statistics speak for themselves.

In 2018, we have seized over 306 firearms and have laid 1,303 firearm related charges.

“We aren’t just collecting shell casings in Peel. I want the community to know that each day Peel Regional Police officers are working extremely hard to ensure their safety.”

Our success is made possible due to the many different people who are helping us fight this battle.  Our layered approach starts with our front line officers who work hard day in and day out, responding to calls, arresting people, laying charges and taking weapons off the street.  We have officers working in our Community Mobilization Teams (CMT) forming relationships within our communities which helps identify problems, lawlessness and criminal activity, and helps us solve crime. We also have officers who are assigned to the Strategic Tactical Enforcement Patrol (STEP) unit which targets gangs and their activity. With help from the community, STEP officers identify gang members and patrol those neighbourhoods to ensure gangs don’t take a foothold in the area. We use analytics to identify peak times where violent crime, including gun crime is occurring. This information is then used to deploy resources accordingly and work with those communities together to increase safety.

Our success in the fight against violent crime however, is dependent upon the participation and cooperation of the community. “Our goal is to eliminate violent crime however we can’t do this alone.” says Chief Evans. We urge the community to contact us when they see criminal or suspicious activity taking place. We understand that not all community members are comfortable contacting police directly so, we want to remind citizens that Crime Stoppers is an excellent option. With Crime Stoppers you can report crimes or provide tips to assist in solving crimes, while remaining completely anonymous.

Peel Regional Police and our community have a simple message for criminals: YOU ARE NOT WELCOME IN PEEL. If you commit a crime we will catch you. Our community is a safe place and we are going to keep it that way.