It’s been a very busy summer in Lanark County and North and Central Frontenac. Our detachment has investigated just over 16,000 incidents this year already. The officers have conducted hundreds of hours of RIDE Programs, Foot and Bicycle Patrols, and issued over 3600 Provincial offence notices.
Our officers have solved numerous major crimes over the summer months and have returned thousands of dollars of stolen property.
Sadly, we have seen the loss of some lives on our highways and this trend seems to be on the rise provincially. One major reason for the loss of these lives seems to be lack of wearing a seatbelt properly or just not at all. The bottom line is, seatbelts save lives, and this trend must change. Our officers will be diligent in their proactive enforcement of ensuring people are wearing seatbelts.
The other big traffic issue is the ongoing rise of cell phones and/or texting while driving. There have been many awareness campaigns locally and provincially on this issue, yet I see drivers daily still chatting away.
With the students back to school, and school buses running, and crossing guards out there, do you want to be the one who drives into one or worse yet, hit a child, all because you weren’t paying attention!! I think we all would have the same answer, so put the phones down while driving, no phone call or text is that urgent!!
As we all know, the hunting season will soon be upon us. Be ever vigilant of increased activity with ATV’s on the road and deer running across the highways. We traditionally see a big increase in car-deer accidents this time of year, so please slow down. As always, the Lanark County Crime Stoppers is working well, so if you have any information to solve a crime, call 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), it’s completely anonymous.
I hope everyone has a safe and healthy Thanksgiving and remember, drive carefully!!
G.T. SALISBURY, Commander,
Lanark County OPP
