With ongoing concerns surrounding local homelessness and social disorder, Chatham-Kent’s police chief is focusing on proactive policing to improve community safety heading into 2026.
While the overall crime rate in Chatham-Kent is below the provincial average, Police Chief Kirk Earley said the latest Crime Severity Index shows that violent crimes have increased slightly year-over-year, while non-violent crimes have decreased.
In response, Earley said additional personnel have been or will be added to the Major Crimes Unit, as well as the Intelligence Unit, in the coming months.
“From the violent crime perspective, that’s something we’re watching right now,” he said. “[We will be making] enhancements to our Intelligence Unit, which is a proactive unit dealing with a lot of the drugs in our community, weapons, [and] violence calls.”
Earley added that Chatham’s downtown core has also been seeing a rise in social disorder calls, which has led to several area residents and businesses voicing their concerns.
“We do have crime occurring in our downtown core, but it’s not as rampant as some may think,” he said. “A lot of our calls — around 80 per cent — are social disorder, which is alive and well in our community, and then 20 per cent are crime.”
Earley said his officers face consistent challenges when dealing with the unhoused or people with a social disorder.
“There’s really not a lot [of places] to take them,” he said. “They’re not allowed to be at a business because it’s closed and they shouldn’t be there, and we have to protect those businesses; that is our job. But we move them along, and then we move them along again, and it’s just a continuous motion.”
The police chief said collaboration with the municipality, the hospital, and social assistance groups will be a continued focus in 2026.
“Behind the scenes, [we will work] with our partners to figure out what the underlying social issues are, to help deter crime. So I think a priority for us is going to be looking at our zone deployments, looking at where the resources need to be allocated,” said Earley.
While some people may be apprehensive about reporting incidents of concern, Earley said he encourages residents to call the police any time, adding that protecting the community is a “collaborative effort.”
“It’s important to notify us. We use that data to help identify where the gaps are in our community, where we need more resources,” he said. “That’s key for us driving forward.”
Chatham-Kent police can be reached by calling 911 during an emergency and 519-352-1234 for non-emergencies.