Scott Tod was eager to share some crime statistics during the Tuesday Police Board Meeting.
Tod, North Bay's police chief, revealed some interesting statistics that show crime seems to be dropping in the downtown core of North Bay.
The Chief compared crime statistics from January to June of 2022 to the numbers from January to June of 2023.
"We wanted to focus on citizen-generated calls for service and to show the increased actions being taken by our police service now that we have a bigger presence in the downtown core, which would have some demonstrated effect in regards to some statistical information," explained Tod.
"I can say from those time comparisons, we have seen a decrease in citizen-generated calls for service of 11 per cent, which is significant. It's over 500 service calls a year if I extrapolate that over 12 months."
One key statistic Tod pointed out was a 33 per cent decrease in citizen-generated calls for service in response to violent crime in the downtown core of North Bay.
"That is significant to me that we have a decrease in violent crime, we also had a decrease of 27 per cent in property crime in the downtown area," said Tod.
"At the same time, we had an increase in officer generated calls for service of almost 7 per cent in the downtown area so it does demonstrate that increase in officer activity and police presence along with the work the city is doing with security in the downtown core can make a difference."
Tod says they have been working closely with Brent Kalinowski, the Community Safety and Well-Being Planner on the Community Safety and Well-Being Plan which was created two years ago. It involves the police, the city and a number of social service agencies in the city.
Tod believes the numbers reflect that some of their efforts which include more foot and bike patrols in the downtown area are working.
"All of our staff are civilians that are sworn staff or special constables or constables really do believe in improving the safety outcomes in our community by working together," said Tod also crediting security services in the downtown area as well.
"I can't say enough good things about our police service and how we work with our social service partners in the city. The creation of the mobile crisis team years ago was innovative at the time and now every police service is doing so North Bay again led the way there on technology. We lead the way across many police services in the implementation of technology and statistical reporting to the board which is very important.
"So it's rewarding for me to see the members and our employees working to improve the outcomes as achieved. I just get to come along for the ride on that one and enjoy it with them. So I'm very happy for the community to see this."
