North Bay has seen a rise in the Crime Severity Index, but as is clearly noted in the report delivered at Tuesday’s Police Board meeting, due to the relatively small sample size of violent crime in the city, any increase, no matter how minuscule, will result in a substantial impact to the CSI.
Violent crime, encompassing homicides, assaults, and sexual assaults are up 2.72 per cent from 2015 to 2016, but on their own, sexual assaults reported to police are down over the same period. In 2016, North Bay recorded a 20 per cent decrease in the total number of sexual assault incidents, from 65 in 2015 to 52 in 2016.
Using comparative statistics, North Bay ranks fourth (first is the highest crime index) among five northern communities. North Bay is third in violent CSI and fourth in non-violent CSI. Timmins ranks first across the board, with Thunder Bay second. Sault Ste. Marie slots in third overall, followed by North Bay and then, Sudbury.
