Newly launched police unit aims to slam brakes on York Region's most egregious drivers

Successful first month for REP team highlighted by intriguing arrests

Yorkregion.com
Feb. 9, 2021
John Cudmore

Members of York Regional Police were conducting a compliance check on a habitual high-risk driver at a Richmond Hill condominium complex.

The subject is considered a risk to drive again after they were convicted of driving while under a lifetime ban related to a prior serious motor vehicle collision.

During the procedure, a rental vehicle reportedly pulled up with another person inside. Officers said they observed this person entering a vehicle -- at the same address -- with stolen licence plates attached.

During the arrest of that individual and a subsequent vehicle search, officers said they located a quantity of fentanyl with a street value of approximately $9,600, plus $5,000 in cash. The accused was charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking.

EARLY SUCCESSES

The initial incident may have taken an unexpected twist, but the resulting arrest is one of the early successes for the Regional Enforcement of Priorities (REP) unit launched on Jan. 4.

Lucky? Perhaps. But being in the right place at the right time is seldom a negative.

The REP team, which operates within YRP’s Road Safety Bureau, is steering its attention to issues such as impaired motorists, dangerous drivers -- particularly those previously convicted of serious charges -- and other high-risk driving behaviours.

In an incident that occurred on Jan. 30, a member of the unit in a covert vehicle reportedly spotted an incident of erratic driving, or stunt driving. Upon pulling over the driver, the officer noted the unlikelihood of Quebec plates being owned by the driver from Mississauga.

In addition to the reported smell of cannabis and open alcohol in the vehicle, the officer also allegedly found a set of brass knuckles. The driver was arrested and found to be wanted for outstanding dangerous driving offences from 2020.

In its first four weeks, the five-member unit made 22 arrests. Its scoresheet includes eight arrests for impaired driving and 12 for stunt driving. A total of 14 three-day suspensions and an additional 111 tickets were written under the Highway Traffic Act.

“We’re hitting a home run,” said Staff Sgt. Andy Graham, head of the 46-officer Road Safety Bureau for the past year. “When we built this team we identified a need and a better way to deploy assets to ensure road safety.

“With all the street racing we’ve seen in the last year, you need officers with special training for those large gatherings of hundreds of people.”

Stunt driving charges more than doubled in 2020 from the previous year. In 2019, there were 619 stunt driving charges laid by YRP officers. Last year, the number soared to 1,262. Of those, the Road Safety Bureau laid 631 charges, an increase of 217 per cent over its total in 2019.

ROAD SAFETY

The unit works with intelligence gleaned from various sources to provide another layer of police work. Information comes from community-driven calls such as information about drivers not supposed to be operating vehicles, Crime Stoppers or data provided by other YRP squads, such as the organized crime bureau or high-risk offenders unit.

The unit’s role is not only to monitor roadways but also snowmobiles and ATVs coming off of lakes, trails and other waterways.

“Our primary focus is any type of road safety,” said Graham, a 29-year YRP veteran. “We are interested in the most egregious instances. We’re building a database for Criminal Code offenders.”

Impaired driving, for instance, is an around-the-clock activity, but it has been even more pronounced during the past 11 months.

“It surprised me,” said Graham. “With all the licensed establishments closed, we’re seeing more impaired charges during the day than at night.”

“It’s good old-fashioned cop work doing intelligence-based enforcement,” said Graham. “There’s never been a one-stop unit to focus on all of this. Road safety is the No. 1 complaint in the region.”

For more information, contact YRP’s corporate communications at 1-866-876-5423, ext. 2664.