Jaime and Leslie McVeety are fed up with the crime in North Bay.
The sisters organized a demonstration outside the North Bay Courthouse on Wednesday morning calling for the justice system to stop releasing repeat offenders back onto the street.
“If they’ don’t have any consequences, they’re not going to learn to change their behaviour,” said Leslie McVeety outside the courthouse.
The two sisters own a house in North Bay which they say has been broken into seven times since August. The first instance saw the deadbolt on their door smashed, and the sisters say their home was “demolished.”
“I can’t be in the house by myself without being scared,” Leslie commented.
“Home is no longer home…they’ve completely destroyed it,” said her sister, Jaime.
The sisters say they notice the same people who are popping up in news headlines or appear in surveillance footage in relation to break-ins.
“It’s always the same five to 10 people who are constantly the ones being arrested or accused and the court system lets them go,” Leslie said.
And the McVeetys are confident that it is the same people who continue to break into their home.
“It’s not a one-time thing. They will hit your house multiple times and completely clean you out,” Jaime added.
The sisters say they have lived in North Bay for about 20 years, but believe that crime is on the rise.
“This year, I cannot believe it. There’s maybe three or four break-ins a day. It’s ridiculous. Something needs to be done,” said Leslie.
At Tuesday’s Police Services Board meeting, crime statistics from the month of September showed a 46 percent decrease in break-and-enters reported. Last September saw 58 break-and-enters reported compared to 31 this year; however, a four percent increase theft was also reported.
