Crime went down in several areas in North Bay in 2018 including sexual offenses, drug charges and total offenses, but it was up in break and enters and assaults.

Deputy Chief Scott Tod says there were 44 more break and enters in 2018 than the year before, and an increase of seven in December alone.

“A number of downtown businesses have been broken into and not just once but twice. At the same time, we have made a number arrests in January from occurrences that happened in December,” Tod says.

He says the number of cases cleared went up from 45 to 63 year over year.

Tod also says they’re increasingly using video to nab break and enter suspects.

“We don’t just need a face now as we can look at individual characteristics of clothing, marks, jewelry and that’s why the quality of the video is so important,” he says.

Tod says they’re working with businesses to ensure they have clear video that can lead the arrest of a suspect.

He says the clearance rate for assaults increased by nearly 40, to 422.

Filed under: North Bay Police Service