Fifty-four percent of city residents who took part in a police survey feel very or somewhat unsafe in North Bay.
That’s one of the findings of the Oraclepoll Research survey of 500 residents, ages 18 and older, conducted last August.
The results are not a surprise to North Bay Police Chief Scott Tod.
“A lot of it is consistent with what we’ve heard since the early part of 2020 about people feeling less safe in our community and associating that to crime,” he says. “Crime has not increased across the city over 2020 vs 2021 in many areas. It has increased in some areas such as assaults and we’ve had three homicides in 2021. I’m sure that is concerning.”
89 percent of respondents are concerned or very concerned about high levels of crime.
Tod says they’ll use the survey results in developing their strategic plan.
“It has a lot to do, as we see, with increasing the visibility of our service across our community,” he says. “I thank the board for making a decision in regards to rededicating the resources from the Callander contract that we had, back to the city with 12 additional hours of patrol per day that we can start to address the issues that have been identified.”
Tod believes awareness of crime is playing a role.
“I also think a lot of the survey is the result of social media, the availability and the broad distribution of crimes that do occur within our community and that they’re able to become aware of those crimes, not only through traditional media but now through other social media channels,” he says.
The survey shows the majority of respondents, 52 percent, believe the single most important issue related to crime and policing in North Bay is the drug and opioid crisis.
“Any drug trade or illegal drug action in regards to the opioid crisis is certainly concerning to our citizens,” Tod says. “I also believe it’s an example of really what’s happening in broader society, of the increase of homelessness within our society, and it’s not just North Bay. Many other communities have also identified very similar traits in regards to the fear of safety and being victimized by crime.”
Compared to a 2015 survey, the latest research shows respondents’ sense of safety has dropped across a number of areas, including in their residence, work or school, their neighbourhood, downtown, in public parks, trails and beaches, and while driving.
