Lanark County OPP have a suspect on their radar who may hold the key to as many as 15 break-and-enter incidents in Lanark Highlands Township.
“Our officers just located another break-and-enter suspect on Friday (Dec. 7) and it looks like we will be able to clear 15 break-and-enter charges,” said Insp. Gerry Salisbury, the detachment commander for the Lanark County OPP, during the township’s police services board meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 11. “It looks like we will clear a lot of break-and-enters.”
Salisbury added that, even before that news, for the third quarter, Lanark Highlands, like the rest of the county, was above the provincial average in terms of the break-and-enter clearance rate.
“We are in great shape for property crimes,” said Salisbury, with a 38 per cent clearance rate.
He added that there was a 100 per cent clearance rate for drug charges in the Highlands in the last quarter – all five of them, along with a 29 per cent clearance rate for theft, and 67 per cent clearance rate for mischief.
He commended the diligence of his officers for the high rates, as well as initiatives taken at a higher managerial level.
“I started a property crimes unit about two years ago,” said Salisbury. “We are starting to see the fruits of that now. It’s really come into fruition now…We identified it as a big problem for us. There are no hidden secrets or gems for us. It’s just good, old-fashioned police work, the guys getting their hands dirty, digging under bushes.”
The PSB chairman, Coun. Derek Love, commended the police for their property crime work.
“Break-and-enters are one of the hardest crimes to prove because houses don’t speak,” said Love.
Salisbury added that, with the winter weather, motorists need to recognize that winter driving methods are required on the roads.
“People don’t slow down for ice conditions,” said Salisbury. “They think that snow tires are God’s gift.”