Lee Griffi, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Rod Wilkinson has been a member of the Woodstock Police Service for nearly 30 years and in the top chair for two years.
The Gazette sat down with Wilkinson recently and asked what has changed the most in the city over his time as chief, aside from the obvious homelessness, mental health and drug issues.
“That is the biggest change. The number of people on the streets and homelessness after COVID. Drug addiction, mental health and homelessness. Everyone was in lockdown and didn’t get a chance to go out and do anything. I think the pandemic played into that.”
When he first joined the force, Wilkinson said they didn’t have mental health calls to deal with but over time that has changed drastically.
“It is leaps and bounds from when I started 28 years ago. We didn’t deal with that. We always dealt with drugs and addiction but back then it was a lot of marijuana and crack cocaine and then meth came along. As a young officer, I didn’t deal with homelessness. Woodstock was smaller then, obviously, but there was one person homeless in the city we dealt with regularly.”
He added police would often provide the person with food and check in to make sure they were safe. In terms of drugs, Wilkinson explained police are still arresting people for simple possession.
“We have the backing of the crown that we can still do that, it’s just what happens in court and that we don’t control over. Whether it’s plea-bargained away or dismissed, I don’t follow everything but those are some of the things happening. The odds of a case being dropped are much higher since marijuana was legalized.”
The Echo published a story in our last paper regarding a homeless encampment on city property, a situation Wilkinson is familiar with. He said just like the city his hands are also tied as a result of a judge’s ruling in Waterloo.
“If they don’t have a place to go, we can’t move them along. If we get a call to attend that location, we will make an arrest with the appropriate charge or charges and process them through paperwork with a court date or, depending on their record, hold them for bail. Then it would be up to the courts to decide where that person, if they were on conditions, would reside or anything to do with release conditions.”
He added noise complaints are referred to the bylaw department during their regular hours but police are called to them otherwise.
“We are issuing a warning or giving a ticket to start with, but we aren’t removing that person or charging them with mischief at that point.”
Wilkinson also explained the law has changed when it comes to what the justice system can do with people who don’t have a fixed address.
“In the past, we wouldn’t be able to release someone because they didn’t have an address and the courts would tend to do the same. That doesn’t matter anymore.”
The City of Woodstock has added an additional $100,000 to its encampment cleanup fund after the one on CN Rail land ate up the entire budget of the same figure. There are approximately 50 encampments in the city that currently have residents or have been abandoned. Wilkinson said the police know where homeless people work and work closely with other community groups.
“We have a Community Response Unit and our members in it walk through those places to make sure everyone is ok. Our job is not to move them along. We might find someone who is wanted, which we have in the past, and we could find stolen property.”
The Woodstock Police Service also has an MHEART or Mental Health Engagement and Response Team. Mental health workers respond to related calls and respond with officers where needed.
“We do accompany EMS on some of their calls. Our job is to know where there might be problems so our officers know where to go.”
The department keeps statistics on the number of calls dealing with homelessness, drug addiction and mental health and moving people along from public spaces such as banks and hotels. In 2023 there were over 700 such calls, something that costs money to deal with.
“We also had 94 drug overdoses and 10 deaths during that time. It was about $720 per call for one officer to attend but most of those calls require two officers and sometimes three where a supervisor would be needed based on policy. It adds up.”
Wilkinson explained statistics like that make up part of his yearly budget ask to the city.
“It was part of my ask for 2024 and I will be grabbing those numbers again for next year. I just looked at our numbers today and we have had 54 overdoses and seven deaths so far this year and we still have another quarter left. We will see where we end up but I suspect it will be similar to last year’s numbers.”
The chief said he doesn’t have a solution to the problem but added all police can do is try to get those in need some help.
“We have Operation Sharing for a place to go during the day which has definitely helped with our downtown issues. Our beat patrol is able to say listen, you can go here. There’s food and shelter, we can get you clothing and offer resources with community partners who work out of there. We also have In Out of the Cold which is a permanent night space with 37 beds. It has helped get people off the streets at night.”
He admitted some homeless people choose not to utilize available resources but when the cold weather arrives a lot of the encampments slow down.
“We will see what happens this year. Our numbers have increased so we will see what comes out of this. We are in meetings as much as we can with the fire department because we have had several encampment fires lately.”
Our conversation with Wilkinson will continue in the next edition of the Echo as he touches on other issues facing the force, such as recruiting new officers.
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