Police say the growing workload goes well beyond responding to the initial call.
The demand on St. Thomas police continues to grow, with the service reaching another record milestone earlier than ever before.
Back in January, Oxford Today reported that the St. Thomas Police Service handled a record 24,345 incidents and events during 2025, continuing a steady increase in police activity.
Now, the latest numbers suggest that trend is continuing in 2026.
The police service recorded its 20,000th call for service on October 13. That is more than two weeks earlier than last year, when the milestone was reached on October 31.
It is also a major shift compared with just a few years ago. St. Thomas did not reach 20,000 calls until December 12 in 2022.
Police say the growing workload goes well beyond responding to the initial call.
Many incidents require additional investigation, follow-up work, court preparation, disclosure and administrative processing. That puts added pressure on frontline officers as well as communications staff, investigators, court services, information technology and other departments.
Police Chief Marc Roskamp noted earlier this year that officers are also dealing with increasingly complex investigations and more serious violent crime.
The service says it remains committed to providing timely and compassionate policing while working with community partners to connect residents with appropriate supports as St. Thomas continues to grow.
