A new report says Waterloo regional police officers spent close to 18,000 hours responding to calls in and around homeless encampments and regional shelters in 2023.
The report, which was prepared by the service for the police board, says the officers spent 11,266 hours in and around shelters and 5,220 hours working in and around encampments.
The total of 17,887 hours is a jump of around 4,200 hours from 2022 and over 7,000 hours from 2020.
The area has seen a rapid increase in the homeless population over the past few years.
According to a report prepared by Waterloo Region, the area has seen a 129 per cent rise in the number of homeless people since January 2020.
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The report, which will be heard by the services board on Wednesday, says that as the number of encampments has increased, the service has seen a “corresponding impact on neighbouring residential and commercial areas.”
That said, the report went on to say there is “not always a direct correlation between the location of a shelter and an encampment on nearby calls for service.”
It noted that some of the calls may be coming in as people perceive a threat.
The jump in the number of hours also has seen a corresponding increase in the number of calls, although police say they are starting to change how they operate.
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Police say they dealt with 10,006 calls around shelters and encampments last year, with 1,420 of those being “compassion to locate” calls, which include well-being checks, and another 1,033 of those being for unwanted persons.
In 2020, when there were a lot fewer calls to police, the report says the top calls were for vehicle stops (844) or an unwanted person (775).
“While attending these calls, officers emphasize diversion, referrals, and engagement. Fully recognizing that homelessness is not a criminal matter, WRPS members partner with other social agencies to help address the needs of the individuals,” the report notes. “By having significant involvement with local encampments, WRPS members maintain positive working relationships with several local emergency and temporary shelter facilities.”
While the report notes that WRPS has officers who specialize in attending calls in these areas, it says they will look to area organizations “who possess expertise in these fields to expand their roles in frontline response and emergency service for those experiencing issues of homelessness and addiction” in the area.
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