Kingston Police Chief updates Service Board on strategic plan achievements

According to a new report, Kingston Police are making progress on the strategic objectives they set out in 2023, including the goal to reduce crime, particularly in the downtown area.

On Thursday, Jul. 17, 2025, Chief of Police Scott Fraser presented the Kingston Police Service Board with a report outlining the progress of Kingston Police’s strategic objectives outlined in its 2023-2026 Strategic Plan, as released in March 2023. 

The report states that, “With the collaboration of all members of the organization, Kingston Police is meeting its Strategic Plan objectives while upholding fiscal responsibility, carefully managing the budget, optimizing resources, and controlling costs to ensure overall financial sustainability.” Fraser called the report a “report card” on how things are going so far and was upbeat about the force's achievements.

While none of the five strategic objectives had been fully achieved yet, the report card summarized the Kingston Police's progress on each of them. 

“We are getting close [to achieving some]. We had lofty goals, and we are headed in the right direction," Fraser noted. 

Those lofty goals include:

• Reduce the weighted crime rate by 10 per cent, particularly in the downtown core. 
• Ensure that the people of Kingston, including marginalized and/or disadvantaged persons, feel safer and are more satisfied with the Kingston Police. 
• Improve member job satisfaction and engagement.
• Improve weighted clearance rate to 45 per cent. 
• Make transfers of non-criminal, low-risk cases faster and more frequent. 

The full Kingston Police Strategic Plan 2023 to 2026 can be read on the Kingston Police website.

Without getting into the nitty gritty of the report, the chief noted several highlights for the board, including “our task force on drones. We've seen a dramatic reduction of [prison] drone drops in our community."

"We've got the partnership of our staff members at City Hall, which has great effects. I'm getting feedback from City staff that is going very well,” he said.

 “We hosted a human trafficking conference for the entire province, which went extremely well; we had a lot of people in here who enjoyed Kingston and learning more about human trafficking.”

Fraser noted that Alertable, a system that sends weather alerts, emergency notifications, and traffic updates directly to the community, is now online. 

“People can sign up, if they don't know about it, by going to our website," he said. ”We're really impressed with it."

Additionally, “our police liaison team's been busy,” the chief said; this is due to the enhancement and deployment of the Police Liaison Team to labour disputes, protests, and mass gatherings. There has been, in general, a reduction in mischief at those events.

Fraser seemed particularly proud of the improvement in Kingston Police’s community engagement, which has seen positive results: from renewed partnerships with the Integrated Care Hub (ICH) and local shelters, to partnerships with City Bylaw Enforcement and community groups.

“Our Fraud Unit detectives have been very busy going out, and the Rotary Club has picked up on that," he said, noting that the local Rotary Club has been hosting fraud prevention presentations. 

“They've been doing them for a couple of years now for our most vulnerable populations, which has been great.” 

Fraser highlighted improved collaboration among frontline officers, the engagement team, senior management, and bylaw services, particularly in areas such as mental health and addictions. These partnerships "are starting to pay dividends,” he said, and the joint efforts are benefiting the community, even though challenges remain.

He gave specific praise to individuals like Justine McIsaac from the ICH, and the care-based approach of its frontline teams, noting their role in diverting people from emergency rooms and jails.

An increased police presence, especially downtown, has helped with relationship-building and consistency, Fraser stated. 

“If you know the community, you know the people, and they know who you are… You can prevent crises before they happen,” the chief explained.

Since its inception, the Community Engagement Team, led by Sergeant Jason Hughes and Constable Clint Wills, has focused on addressing homelessness and encampments. The initiative, which cost $337,000, has resulted in a reduction in calls for service and an improvement in community relations, Fraser reported.

The police chief got into this in greater depth while presenting another report about the Community Safety and Support initiative, which Kingstonist will cover in a followup story.

Fun Fair to take place July 19

When the time came for questions, Board Member Gail MacAllister made sure to mention that some upcoming community engagement events include the Kingston Police Community Fun Fair this Saturday, Jul.19, 2025, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Kingston Police Headquarters, 705 Division Street.

Fraser noted that the Fun Fair has been a successful event for the last two years, with thousands of people in attendance, “and we're expecting thousands again to come out from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the back parking lot. Our staff are once again volunteering. There will be hot dogs and face painting. The volunteers will be here."

The event will also feature bouncy castles, an obstacle course, mini cars, a drone demonstration, and K9 and other unit demonstrations, Fraser noted. 

"The Emergency Response Team will be rappelling off the roof --- if the seagulls allow it,” he joked. “We have a family of seagulls living up there who were not too happy when they practised last week, so we'll see how that goes.”

Fraser emphasized that the Fun Fair is meant to be a community event, and that it allows officers and staff with Kingston Police to engage with community members in an informal, lighthearted setting.

"We're really looking forward to it. And collectively, having staff come out and everyone is welcome. Please, if you haven't seen the invitation, come on out. It's going to be a lot of fun," he said.

The Kingston Police Service Board meets regularly on the third Thursday of each month, beginning at noon (unless stated otherwise in the agenda) in the William Hackett Boardroom at Kingston Police Headquarters, 705 Division Street.