There was a dramatic increase in carjackings and jewelry store robberies in 2024, according to a new report by the Waterloo Regional Police Service.
Chief Mark Crowell held a roundtable Monday to give the public an overview of the crimes they responded to in the community.
Homicides
Police investigated five homicides last year, the same as 2023.
Shootings
Waterloo Regional Police said they investigated 22 shootings in 2024, a 22 per cent increase from the year before.
Five incidents were reported in Cambridge:
Another four happened in Waterloo:
- Hickory Street West
- Kumpf Drive
- King Street North
- King Street North
Kitchener had the greatest number of shootings, with a total of 13:
- Gray Street
- King Street East
- Kingsway Drive
- Homer Watson Boulevard
- Fergus Avenue
- Jean Avenue
- Century Hill Drive
- Fischer Hallman Road
- Fischer Hallman Road
- Courtland Avenue East
- Arlington Boulevard
- Ardelt Avenue
- Munch Avenue
Gun-involved crimes
While shootings increased in 2024, police said there were only 97 violent firearm offences.
That represented a 17 per cent drop from 2023.
Weapons
Police said they seized 1,088 weapons last year, versus 1,096 in 2023.
Drugs
Police also shared a breakdown of the drugs they seized in 2024, as compared to the year before.
Marijuana
- 2023: 53,157 grams
- 2024: 145,316 grams
Methamphetamine
- 2023: 15,070 grams
- 2024: 15,188 grams
Fentanyl
- 2023: 18,251 grams
- 2024: 20,772 grams
Cocaine
- 2023: 45,095 grams
- 2024: 79,997 grams
Heroin
- 2023: 258 grams
- 2024: 185 grams
Ecstasy/MDMA
- 2023: 771 grams
- 2024: 132 grams
Oxycodone (pills)
- 2023: 3,090 grams
- 2024: 1,895 grams
Robberies
There were nine jewelry store robberies in 2024, an increase of 80 per cent from the year before.
In contrast, pharmacy robberies dropped 55 per cent year-over-year. Police said only five were reported in 2023.
There were 156 person-on-person robberies in 2024, a drop of 11 per cent from the year before.
In total, 286 robberies were reported to police.
Vehicle thefts
Police said there were 20 carjackings last year, representing a 100 per cent increase from the year before.
The report also looked at vehicle thefts in the region.
Investigations
- 2023: 977
- 2024: 1,193
Believed to be organized crime reprogramming thefts
- 2023: 130
- 2024: 163
Attempted organized crime reprogramming thefts
- 2023: 22
- 2024: 53
Traffic charges
Police said fatal crashes increased by 70 per cent in 2024, with a total of 17 deaths.
Most other road-related charges, meanwhile, dropped slightly:
Speeding
- 6,314 charges
- 4 per cent decrease from 2023
Distracted driving
- 334
- 6 per cent decrease from 2023
Impaired driving
- 818
- 13 per cent decrease from 2023
Dangerous driving
- 266
- 1 per cent increase from 2023
Seatbelt
- 347
- 4 per cent decrease from 2023
Highway Traffic Act violations
- 12,844
- 3 per cent increase from 2023
Public Order Unit
The Public Order Unit (POU) was deployed 34 times in 2024.
The unit responds to large-scale incidents including protests, demonstrations and annual events.
Waterloo Regional Police said it was the most deployments since 2019, a direct response to an increase in local events.
Swatting calls
In 2024, there were 26 swatting calls made in Waterloo Region.
Those calls usually involved a false report to first responders, with the aim of getting emergency responders to go to a specific location.
Police said they saw a dramatic increase in swatting calls last year, wasting “hundreds of personnel hours responding and investigating.”
Hate crimes
“Since 2019, the amount of hate-motivated crime has increased every year,” police said in their report.
Data, provided by WRPS, showed reported incidents nearly doubled between 2022 and 2023.
Other
The report also gave an overview of the mental health-related incidents they responded to in 2024.
Overall, they said their mental health response teams were dispatched 1,159 times.
They broke down the calls to IMPACT, the force’s Integrated Mobile Police and Crisis Team:
- Mental illness – 52.4 per cent
- Attempted suicide – 21 per cent
- Compassionate to locate – 13.3 per cent
- Domestic dispute – 8.6 per cent
Police said officers were called to four or five suicide attempts every day.
