Deputy Chief Scott Tod is concerned about the increase in robberies in the city.
In the October statistics released earlier this week by the North Bay Police Service, the city saw 23 robberies in October of 2018 compared to only 16 in October of 2017. That’s an increase of 42 percent.
“That is seven more robberies and that is a theft with violence that happens within the community,” Deputy Chief Scott Tod told Rogers Radio.
“We have had a couple notable incidents where a gas station attendant was injured during a robbery by an assailant and then cut the face of the attendant and that is concerning to me and having that type of violence within our community.”
Tod says many of the robberies involve the suspects carrying edge weapons, and that is nothing new. According to police, the 24-hour businesses such as gas bars or convenience stores have been the major targets for robbers.
“Edged weapons have always been used in robberies but I think the injury recently to the person at the gas bar is really concerning to us that the people committing these robberies are actually prepared to injure or seriously hurt people who are working in some of these establishments such as convenience stores and gas bars,” said Tod.
While Tod does not like to see the robbery numbers on the rise, he does feel confident that the frontline officers are finding those responsible.
“Our officers safety and public safety are the two major concerns with regards to robbery and looking at what weapons are involved and the nature of the crime,” said Tod to Rogers Radio.
“I can say we have had great success in the ability to investigate and arrest individuals responsible for robberies in our community. We have a 70 percent clearance rate and we are continuously working all the unsolved robberies within the community.”
