Waterloo Region on track for a decline in violent crime

While there remain two-and-a-half months in the year, the early numbers are looking good for the Waterloo Regional Police (WRPS) crime suppression efforts.

WRPS Chief Mark Crowell stopped by The Mike Farwell Show on Tuesday for a monthly check-in. He briefly went over a few numbers, specifically data on homicides and the number of shooting incidents in the region.

He prefaced his comments by saying, over the last five years, Waterloo Region has averaged five homicides and five attempted homicides per year. Last year, there were exactly five homicides.

This year, there have been two, both happening in September.

The first investigation was launched on Sept. 12, when the body of Elizabeth Spurgeon was found in North Dumfries. That investigation is now being treated as a homicide.

The second incident came three days later when a 70-year-old Kitchener man was found dead in his home. A 29-year-old woman was charged with second-degree murder.

Some could argue that the drop in yearly homicides could partially be attributed to a decline in shootings in the region.

“Year to date, we’ve had 13 shootings in our community with no fatalities, and last year we had 22 shootings,” said Crowell, adding, “Our efforts are still going into crime suppression in terms of firearms usage. And that hopefully is changing some behaviour in terms of us focusing on known prolific offenders and those involved in criminal activity related to firearms.”

Of the five homicides reported in 2024, four involved firearms. Neither of the deaths this year has been attributed to firearms.