Windsor councillor wants to protect social services

Councillor wants to clamp down on homeless people with warrants in other cities accessing Windsor services. CTV Windsor’s Bob Bellacicco explains.

It’s no secret Windsor’s social services are stretched thin, especially for helping people who are experiencing homelessness.

 A recent experience has driven city councillor Renaldo Agostino to push for limiting access to local services.

He says he witnessed a theft in progress and learned that a person was wanted for a crime elsewhere but was not taken into custody.

“The City of Windsor is no refuge for anyone who has warrants for their arrest,” Agostino tells CTV News.

He specifically wants to clamp down on the unhoused living here from accessing Windsor’s social services while wanted by police somewhere else.

“Last thing we need is more and more people coming to this city that either are sent here or come here on their own will that have warrants for their arrests in other communities and those communities want nothing to do with them. That’s a big problem,” Agostino warned.

Windsor mayor Drew Dilkens says the city used to arrest people for minor warrants and return them to their jurisdiction at Windsor’s expense.

“It was highly successful from a crime perspective, lowering crime,” Dilkens told the radio audience on AM800 Tuesday morning. “The problem was the Crown’s office had a problem with us doing that and expressed that to the police, wanting to know, ‘Why are you doing that because it’s a rather unconventional thing to do.’”

The local Crown attorney’s office has yet to respond to an email from CTV News.

Criminal defence lawyer Evan Weber explains those who aren’t being arrested are likely wanted for minor crimes, not serious criminal offences.

“When there’s crimes of violence and people are injured or there’s the risk of that, that’s obviously seen as more serious than just a strict property crime,” Weber said. “If this person is wanted or there’s a warrant for something very serious like murder or armed robbery or something very serious, of course, that person’s likely not going to be released.”

Agostino has asked the city to look into the problem and he floated ideas to control who has access to city program.

“In Calgary, I saw fingerprint scanning. I’ve seen retina scanning in other jurisdictions, even something as simple as wristbands or some type of I.D. that’s given,” Agostino suggests.

June Muir feels that could be a costly proposition for social providers unless help is offered to fund the idea.

The CEO of the UHC Hub of Opportunities is all for people being held accountable but Muir warns those who need local social services should also be treated with respect.

“Some people just don’t want to give their fingerprints and they’re not a criminal so it opens up a whole can of worms but we want to make sure it’s a solution and a process that does work for everyone.”