New data shows violent crime continues to decline in downtown North Bay

North Bay police released data showing the city’s downtown is getting safer–the police chief broke down the figures from the last 5 years showing the decrease.

New data revealed Tuesday morning during the North Bay Police Services Board meeting shows violent crime in the city’s downtown continues to decline as improvements continue to be made to enhance safety in the core.

During the meeting, police chief Daryl Longworth noted that he is pleased to see that efforts to improve overall safety downtown are working.

“The perception that people have that downtown is unsafe is not supported by the data,” he told reporters after the meeting.

“The downtown core and North Bay is a safe environment. You can go and frequent the businesses, take your family downtown and I hope you’re going to see some of our officers.”

That data, he said, shows that from 2023-2024, there was a 22 per cent drop in violent crime in that part of the city.

According to police statistics, here are the number of violent crime incidents that have occurred in the downtown each year over the last five years:

• 2020: 130
• 2021: 110
• 2022: 107
• 2023: 94
• 2024: 77

“It’s dropping gradually. But then when we get in the most recent years, it’s drops significantly,” Longworth said.

“I made it no secret since I got here that the downtown is a high priority for us. We wanted to increase the visibility.”

Citing increased foot patrol in the downtown and having more police vehicles cruising downtown streets as factors, Longworth stated that continued community engagement with downtown partners is needed to address the situation.

“Yesterday, I was downtown and there were three police vehicles parked downtown with six officers out walking our downtown. We haven’t seen that in the past. That concentration by our police service reflects how much that we deem our downtown part of our community and make sure that families, people shopping, storekeepers, and everybody feel safe,” Mayor Peter Chirco said.

“Violent crime being down 22 per cent year over year, that’s a direct correlation to the amount of exposure that our officers are having downtown.”

Chirico told CTV News he is pleased to see the increased presence on a daily basis.

Speaking of the millions of dollars invested into the downtown over recent years – such as the pump track, the Main Street revitalization project, the new playground and splash pad –Chirico said the more people who visit the downtown will add to the safety aspect.

“It is a place for people. That’s what we want is for people to feel safe down there,” he said.

“That concentrated effort by our police service right across our city, I believe is working.”

As the summer months continue to get closer, Longworth told CTV News that downtown patrols will continue to be a priority.