TIMMINS - In the wake of a spike in crime in the downtown core, Timmins' police chief says things are going better than people think.
While data presented by deputy police chief Darren Dinel shows crime is decreasing in key areas, he said the intensity is increasing.
"The intensity that comes along with guns and gang violence, I'm not saying that these are necessarily gang violence, but they're gun violence. So those are concerning to the community, because of the natural dangers that they bring," said Dinel.
On the eve of Christmas Eve, Timmins council met to talk about the rash of crime in recent weeks. There have been two shootings, more than a handful of break-ins at businesses, and an assault in the downtown core.
The agenda included a number of items focused on community safety, including the presentation from police.
"I don't want to lose sight of where we need to direct our attention. We've had two shootings. But overall, the general trend for homicides in our community has been trending downwards. The trend for property crime has been trending downwards. So when we do have these spikes, I don't want us to overreact unnecessarily," said Chief Syndey Lecky, who took part in the presentation virtually as he's not in town.
The recent spike, he said, appears to be easing and a couple of people have been arrested. Based on data, Lecky said that the spike isn't unusual for Timmins or his experience policing in other areas.
Dinel was in council chambers and talked about the crime rates in town.
Every year, Statistics Canada releases a crime severity index (CSI) that takes a look at the volume and severity of crimes reported to police in regions across the country. It differs from the traditional way crime data are reported where each incident — whether it’s a petty theft or murder — carries the same weight.
The 2023 data was released in the summer and had Timmins at 24th overall of the police service areas in Ontario for its crime severity. In 2022, it was 13th.
The crime severity rate in 2023 was 131.36, a drop of 11.15 per cent from 147.84 in 2022. It’s the lowest that the index has been since 2017, when it was 94.97.
The CSI includes all Criminal Code violations, including traffic and drug violations and all federal statutes reported to police. Each crime is assigned a weight based on how serious it is, with serious crimes that are likely to result in prison time or longer sentences having a higher weight.
So far in 2024, the service's data shows the number of break-ins are down 28.4 per cent, said Dinel.
In the downtown area, he said the break-and-enter crimes are down 37 per cent. In 2023, there were 43 crimes reported to police and at the end of November there were 27. That does not include the December incidents.
For assaults, he said they are shifting to the downtown area. Across the city there's an overall decrease of 0.3. per cent, however, when the downtown is isolated he said there's been an increase in assault-related crime.
Across the city, Dinel said there's been a 19.44 per cent drop in property crime, and in the downtown area specifically there's a 50 per cent decrease.
While not part of the stats presented to council, police said theft and fraud crimes are up, as well as weapons and firearms offences. In March, Dinel said there were seven firearms seized by police.
Drug trafficking, he said, is also a serious concern, especially the violence that goes with it.
"We try to make sure that we pursue the most dangerous issues, and that's the gun violence that comes with the drug trafficking," he said.
For areas that are increasing, Dinel said it's up to police to respond to it.
"We have been responding to it in different different elements. We had an enforcement activity directed to put down the core throughout the fall. So we deployed resources down there to try and get on top of some of these issues, to hope that we can make a difference there," he said.
Councillors questioned if some of the crime data are down because it's not being reported.
When it comes to shoplifting, Lecky said there is under-reporting. While it's a possible factor for other offenses, he couldn't speak to those specifically.
Social media and the perception of crime versus what's actually happening was also talked about.
Lecky said that social media amplifies incidents that might otherwise not be. The police also noted the new online tool people can use to report incidents.
