Chief Shawn Devine presented the police service’s annual report to the North Bay Police Board on Thursday.
The annual police report from NBPS presents data for 2017, with comparisons to 2016, and occasionally, earlier years.
A common theme in board meetings over the last several years has been the sheer number of calls for police assistance in dealing with addictions or mental health cases. In 2017, the report shows NBPS responded to eight mental health calls per day (or 2,827 for 2017) for service.
Both the Devine and Deputy Chief Scott Tod have addressed the police resources needed to keep up with the calls. To mitigate these issues, and to find people the community supports needed, the Mobile Crisis Team has been an invaluable tool, Devine says. Calls for police were down 4.8 per cent from 2016, with 16,697 calls in 2017.
Both have suggested less time spent by officers dealing with addictions and mental health calls would lead to more “core” police work being done. In 2017, 3,665 Criminal Code charges were laid and processed in court, up 32 per cent over 2016.
The Crime Severity Index for North Bay rose 7.9 per cent in 2017. Violent crime is up 4.9 per cent and non-violent crime is up 9.4 per cent.
