The Windsor Police Service is assigning resources to address a growing trend involving the serious nature of youth crime in the city. Deputy Chief Ken Cribley says at the end of June, an officer was reassigned to be a youth crime coordinator to look for trends, review every file that comes in, and work with partners in the community to address youth crime in Windsor while tracking measures taken against those who have been arrested. “We talk about monitoring who’s been given a diversion file and who’s already been given a warning and to ensure that this person has been given their one chance with a warning. This time the charge will be laid. Our youth crime coordinator will work closely with the crown attorney as well,” he says. As of the end of August, there have been 277 youth involved in police reports, including 127 involved in more than one report, with 16 cases involving youth under the age of 12. Cribley says they are working with the Crown Attorney to assess when to lay a charge or issue a diversion file or Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) warning, which he is laid out in the YCJA legislation. He says youth crime is not just increasing but also in its severity. “You’re not just talking about some graffiti or other mischief or things like that; kids skateboarding where they shouldn’t be, which was kind of the youth crime I dealt with when I was a patrol officer,” he says. “Now it’s home invasions, stolen cars, and walking around with bear mace or edged weapons. Yeah, it’s concerning.” In September alone, police arrested five young people in connection with a weapons call on Sept. 13, while a 14-year-old was charged in connection to a weapons call on Sept. 7. A 13-year-old and a 12-year-old were also arrested in connection with a series of vehicle thefts over the summer. Cribley says he won’t speculate on what’s driving the change, but youth crime is something they discuss on a weekly basis. “I talk a lot about accountability, and where does it start? Does it start at home? At the school? With the parents? I don’t know. We’re seeing the trends, but it’s difficult to speculate. It’s concerning, but we’re doing the best we can,” he says. In the second quarter of 2026, police recorded a 25.7 per cent increase in youths charged compared to the second quarter of 2025. There was also an 86.7 per cent jump in Youth Criminal Justice Act police warnings issues, a 250 per cent increase in Youth Diversion cases (ages 12-17), and a 150 per cent increase in Youth Diversion cases (ages 6-11).
