Statement from Mayor Wade Mills

Statement from Mayor Wade Mills
Regarding Recent Criminal Incidents within the Town of Shelburne
January 19, 2022

As most of you will be aware, Shelburne has unfortunately experienced two serious criminal incidents over the past two weeks which have attracted a great deal of attention through both traditional and social media platforms. Understandably, the seriousness and high-profile nature of these incidents have left some residents feeling on edge.

Last evening, we had a Police Service Board meeting and we discussed these issues at length with senior officials from our Dufferin OPP detachment. The following key points emerged from those discussions which I hope will help ease some of the anxiety being felt within our community:

1. The two recent incidents in question were certainly serious but they were not related and were completely isolated;
2. Although these two isolated incidents occurred within a short period of time, neither of them points to an increased threat to community safety;
3. Occurrences of crime are continually being tracked and monitored and the overall trends that we are seeing do not indicate an increase or escalation in serious criminal activity within our community;
4. Shelburne remains a very safe community.

I would like to personally thank the OPP for their exceptionally fast responses and professional handling of these two isolated incidents. I can also assure you that your Council and Police Service Board take these matters very seriously and that we will continue to work with the OPP to ensure that our community is a safe place to live and raise a family.

I have every confidence in our local OPP to continue to provide effective and efficient policing within our community. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact me directly at mayor@shelburne.ca. The non-emergency number for the OPP is 1-888-310-1122 and if you have an emergency, call 911.