The Guelph Police Service tabled its 2025 annual report showing a mixed picture for local safety, with property crimes climbing while response times to the most urgent calls hit their fastest mark in over a decade.
Property crime in Guelph, Ontario, jumped 6.5 per cent last year, reaching 4,616 incidents. Break-and-enters rose by 10.7 per cent, theft increased by 2.9 per cent, and fraud was up by 0.7 per cent. At the same time, crimes against the person remained nearly flat, edging up just 0.4 per cent, though sexual violations spiked by 23.8 per cent to 263 reported occurrences.
On the road, the numbers were more encouraging. Personal injury collisions dropped 12.8 per cent, from 302 in 2024 to 265 last year. Officers handed out 7,712 Highway Traffic Act violation notices, a 57 per cent increase, part of a targeted push that the service says is paying off under the city’s Vision Zero plan.
The police handled 86,107 calls for service in 2025, up from 79,970 the year before, while working with a $65.7 million operating budget and 243 sworn officers. The median response time for Priority 1 calls, the most serious emergencies, improved by nearly 10 per cent to 5 minutes and 59 seconds, the lowest recorded since 2014.
Chief Gord Cobey pointed to the Community Safety Operations Centre and the adoption of Next Generation 9-1-1 technology as key factors in speeding up emergency responses. The service also expanded its human trafficking unit to eight officers, which partly explains the jump in related calls from 52 to 80. Guelph finished the year with a $1.55 million operating surplus, with $1.25 million earmarked for its capital reserve fund.
