TIMMINS - While there was a spike in break-ins at the end of 2024, the total number of incidents reported to police was down compared to 2023.
At the March 13 Timmins Police Service board meeting, Deputy Chief Darren Dinel discussed the 2024 calls for service.
Last year, online reporting was introduced, which Chief Sydney Lecky said shifted some numbers. He also acknowledged the spike in break-ins late in the year.
“There was a spike in November,” said Lecky. “You get a spike, and you get a reaction from the public, but it’s still trending down. It doesn’t mean that December wasn’t a bad month but that’s what happens.”
With all of the data in for the year, Dinel said in an email that crime rates and the severity of crime are decreasing.
This is a change from December, when at an emergency Timmins council meeting Dinel said crime was decreasing in key areas, but the intensity was increasing.
He attributes the drop to having more police officers and support staff.
“Officers have been focused on police-specific tasks with additional tools made available through technology acquisition while support staff are focused on their respective areas of expertise. This has enhanced public safety with more visibility, community engagement, and resource availability throughout 2024. We continue to pursue strategic investments such as recruitment, training, and technology projects that will strengthen our resources to address emerging issues in the community,” he wrote.
Property Crime
While property crime rates went up by 5.3 per cent in 2024, with 2,678 incidents last year, the number of break-and-enters and mischief incidents have gone down.
There were 274 break-and-enters in 2024 compared to 358 in 2023. Mischief charges also decreased, with 299 incidents compared to 364 in 2023.
There has been a sharp increase in shoplifting and theft in the city, with 670 shoplifting incidents compared to 555 in 2023 and 937 thefts compared to 765 in 2023.
Lecky said the police website's online reporting system has been used more frequently, which can account for some of the increase.
“Certainly online reporting has helped people get their message out when it comes to the shoplifting and minor thefts,” he said.
Lecky said that police are working on the problem, and the increase is not alarming.
“It’s still a nagging problem here,” he said. “We get those one-offs. We’ve always had them. They are annoying, and occasionally we catch up with them and we find out they’re often people who, this is what they do for a living.”
Violent Crime
In 2024, the violent crime rate dropped 1.4 per cent, with 941 incidents over the calendar year. In 2023, there were 954 incidents.
Dinel said during the TPS board meeting that there is no way to break down what kinds of weapons were used, but that anything from a rock to a gun could be used as a weapon.
Traffic
The number of collisions in Timmins has gone up for the second year in a row.
In 2024, there was a 12 per cent increase in collisions and a 31 per cent increase in impaired operation charges.
There were 1,115 collisions in the city in 2024, up from 1,043 in 2023.
The intersection of Algonquin Boulevard at Mountjoy Boulevard had the most collisions with 28 crashes. There were 18 collisions at the Algonquin Boulevard and Highway 655, and 17 at Riverside Drive and Shirley near the Timmins Square.
In 2023 most of the crashes were at Algonquin Boulevard and Highway 655, with 19 incidents.
Officer Engagement
There was a noticeable increase in officer-generated calls this year.
The number of officer-generated calls, which includes warrant arrests, compliance checks, and traffic enforcement, went up by 11.1 per cent in 2024
Dinel noted in an email to TimminsToday that the increase could be due to increased training, technology access, and deployment of additional resources to directed patrols.
The full report has not been released yet, but will appear here on the Timmins Police Services website.
