North Bay police produced evidence last week that crime is increasing in the city, and that was confirmed today by the annual Maclean's list of the most dangerous cities in Canada.
Deputy Chief Mike Daze told a Police Board meeting that in September of 2018, the North Bay Police had 202 reported break and enters but in September of 2019 that number has increased to 320.
“That is about a 37 per cent increase that we are seeing year to date on the break and enters,” said Daze.
See: Police concerned about a significant increase in B & E’s
Now the MacLean's study in the "all crime" category shows North Bay and Callander are 84th on the list of 237 communities with a crime severity index of 83. That's up from 99 last year.
When looking at violent crime, North Bay and Callander are 54th -- up from 60th last year.
West Nipissing ranks 124th on the all crime index.
See: See: Canada's Most Dangerous Places
The latest report shows rates of sexual assaults, firearms offences, and most drug offences were down while rates of assaults, theft and property crime, and youth crime were up.
Here are some additional rankings for North Bay Callander:
Sexual assault 73rd
Violent crime 54th
Breaking and entering 82nd
In the survey, Timmins was the worst in northern Ontario in "all crime" ranking 21st. Sault Ste. Marie is 43rd, Pembroke 49th, Thunder Bay 56th and Greater Sudbury 89th.
Elliot Lake is 97th. Temiskaming Shores is 122 and Cochrane is 163rd.
The report ranks communities according to the Crime Severity Index, a Statistics Canada measure of all police-reported crime, which takes into consideration both the volume and seriousness of offences.
