Dryden OPP find new ways of reducing petty crime

The Dryden OPP have noticed a significant reduction in shoplifting and thefts under $5,000.

Sergeant Erin Huckell says she started a program to try reducing the number of petty thefts.

“With the Community Engagement Team, I came up with a plan,” Huckell told the Dryden OPP Detachment Board meeting recently.

“Instead of allowing those people to go and steal, we tried to engage with them first and offer them any sort of supplies they would need to prevent them from stealing.”

Huckell says the Dryden OPP have worked with a couple of local agencies to offer supplies people might need, like food.

“We set up a plan with the Dryden Native Friendship Center and the Food Bank that if somebody was just stealing for food, then, please come to us first and we would ensure they were accommodated appropriately. I think it brought it down 47 percent.”

The Dryden OPP says they have seen the number of property crimes go from 96 in July to September last year, down to just 51 in 2025 for the same period.

The biggest drop was in the number of break and enters from 21 in 2024 down to 5 so far in 2025, a reduction of 72 percent.