Norfolk County has one of the lowest crime rates in Canada. The Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics reports that Norfolk County is among the Top 30 safest communities, in a comparison on 201 municipalities’ violent crime severity indices.
Norfolk County Fire & Rescue (norfolkcountyfire.ca) services all 1,600 square kilometres of our community, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Response goes beyond civic boundaries and is covered by mutual aid agreements with our neighbouring municipalities. Norfolk County is divided into 11 fire districts, based on the principle of the best possible response time. A common dispatch centre works with 242 volunteer firefighters.
Norfolk County Emergency Medical Services dedicates their services to our community on a 24-hour basis, and are committed to responding with optimum speed and efficiency to all medical emergencies. Emergency patient care includes the stabilization and transportation of the acute and critically injured utilizing eleven Basic Life Support ambulances, two Emergency Response Vehicles, one Rapid Access Vehicle and one Emergency Support Unit. Currently EMS responds from bases in Simcoe, Port Dover, Waterford, Delhi, Port Rowan and Langton.
The Norfolk County Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) employs 116 staff, including 95 constables, nine sergeants and two staff sergeants. The detachment is headquartered in Simcoe, and has eight sub-office across Norfolk County. “True measures of our success are reflected within our County through the absence of crime and people feeling safer,” said OPP Inspector / Detachment Commander Zvonko Horvat. “During the most recent survey, 99% of respondents felt safe in our community.”
Our first responders are considered experts in large-event management, given that our small community hosts such phenomena as the Friday the 13th motorcycle gatherings in Port Dover, and the Pottahawk boating event in Long Point Bay. Local officials also came together cooperatively to ensure that the Mumford & Sons Gentlemen of the Road Simcoe Stopover was a safe and fun event.
