BARRHEAD - It has been a busy year for the County of Barrhead Enforcement Services Department.
From January to April, community peace officer Shae Guy told councillors during their May 6 meeting that he actioned 619 complaints, 101 of which were from the public, while 518 were self-generated.
"This represents a 71 per cent increase in complaints and an 81 per cent jump in overall files over the same period [from January to the end of April] last year," he said.
However, Guy said they anticipated an increase in files, given the relatively short time the department has been in place.
Although the municipality hired Guy in late December 2023, the county's Enforcement Services Department wasn't fully functional until late February 2024.
Before his arrival, the municipality contracted enforcement services, receiving 80 hours of service a month from other municipalities.
In addition to responding to complaints or conducting proactive enforcement, in the four months of 2025, Guy attended court eight times, for a total of 19 hours, including prep time, attended 15 meetings for a total of 17 hours and conducted 24 school bus or school zone patrols for 16 hours.
Guy said he has also assisted Barrhead RCMP, Regional Fire Services (BRFS), and ambulance crews on 76 occasions.
"While this might seem like a drastic increase, only 20 were emergency response calls," he said.
In 2024, over the same period, he assisted police, fire and ambulance a dozen times.
Guy noted that the category also includes times when he asked for assistance from the RCMP.
"We have been getting a lot of different calls in the last four months, ones with higher risk or that require more officers," he said, giving the example of vehicle seizures and tows at 13. "That is more than I had for the entire 2024 year, so I don't know what has happened, but nobody seems to have insurance, driving while suspended or are impaired. At least I am coming across it more this year."
Guy added that school bus incidents and/or flybys also seem to be on the rise, with 10 files in 2024 compared to 14 this year.
He also noted that Animal Control Bylaw complaints have almost doubled, going from 15 to 27.
Earlier in the meeting, Guy said all the Animal Control Bylaw complaints in 2025 are dog complaints, compared to last year, in which he received some chicken complaints.
Traffic safety offences, the vast majority being speed-related, continue to be a concern, Guy said, adding the most egregious example was a driver clocked travelling 98 km/h over the posted speed limit.
In the first quarter of 2025, Guy issued 303 warnings and 261 tickets, compared to only 123 warnings and 117 last year.
Again, Guy said that may seem like a drastic increase, but added in 2024, the county did not start doing traffic enforcement until March.
The monetary value of the tickets for 2025 equates to $78,024, while the warnings, if they had been tickets, are $80,112.
Notable speeding offences include a driver going 139 km/h in an 80km/h zone on Township Road 615A outside of Neerlandia, and several incidents of excessive speeding through the Dunstable School zone on Highway 651, including two motorists caught going over 122 km/h over the speed limit as well as a driver travelling 168 km/h in a 100 km/h zone on Highway 18 near Campsie. The driver was driving an uninsured and unregistered vehicle while suspended and impaired.
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
