Stratford police report slight drop in calls, rise in charges for 2025

By Amanda Nelson

Stratford police saw a slight decrease in overall calls for service in 2025 compared to the previous year, according to a year-end report presented to the Stratford Police Service Board on Jan. 21.

Insp. Jason Clark presented the December 2025 statistics, reporting 1,423 calls for service in Stratford, 165 in St. Marys and 134 in Perth South. Total calls for the year reached 22,902, down from 23,388 in 2024.

Charges laid in December included 271 in Stratford, 37 in St. Marys and 16 in Perth South. A total of 6,456 charges were laid in 2025, up from 5,971 the year before.

“The increase in charges late in the year indicates proactive law-enforcement efforts,” Clark said. “Our youth crime diversion suggests that we are successful in our intervention strategies.”

Youth-crime diversion statistics showed 53 charges and 93 diversions in 2025. No hate crimes were reported in December.

Mental-health-related calls totalled 849 in 2025. The community resource unit had 15 contacts and attended six community events in December. Board members discussed improving statistical reporting and the potential creation of a public dashboard.

“The consistency in mental-health-related calls highlights the ongoing community need and the community resource unit’s engagement,” Clark said. “I think it’s reflective of our commitment to public engagement.”

Police Chief Greg Skinner also presented the 2025 financial report, noting total expenditures of $14.4 million, with a positive variance of $1.54 million, or 10.4 per cent of the budget.

Salaries and benefits accounted for 88 per cent of total spending, with utilization rates of 94.35 per cent for full-time and 87.31 per cent for part-time positions. Long-term absences and overtime resulted in a 20 per cent overspend in other payroll expenses.

Skinner said the service plans to address staffing shortages through the use of special constables and auxiliary roles and is continuing to develop succession planning.

He added training and conference costs have increased due to the relatively young demographic of the service.

“We have become a very young police service, with approximately 75 per cent of our frontline uniform staff having less than 10 years of service,” Skinner said. “To support operations and investigative excellence, we will need to continue investing in training to ensure our members have the knowledge, skills and ability to meet legislative requirements.”

Skinner also noted the service saved approximately $25,000 in fuel and $25,000 in vehicle repairs due to the introduction of a hybrid fleet.