The North Bay Area has seen a slight drop on the Crime Severity Index (CSI) for 2021.
The CSI ranks communities over 10,000 population by their CSI value.
In 2020 North Bay's CSI value was 113 and its rank among the 326 communities in the Index was 45 in Canada.
"In 2021, we were encouraged to see that our CSI value decreased slightly to 112.5 and our ranking among communities also decreased to 48 in Canada," stated David Woolley, corporate communications officer, with the North Bay Police Service.
Woolley says the North Bay Police Service continues to strengthen the services it provides to the people of North Bay.
"We continue to work with our community partners to ensure at-risk individuals receive the supports they need," said Woolley.
"This diverts people away from the justice system and prevents crimes from occurring in the first place."
Woolley says the Service is receiving the support they need.
"The North Bay Police Services Board approved the hiring of nine additional officers to ensure we have the capacity to meet the needs of the people of North Bay," added Woolley.
"We are continuing our long-standing practice of collaborating with our justice sector partners, in part through our membership in the OPP-led Guns and Gangs Joint-Forces Operation, which is made possible by a $75 Million investment by the Ontario provincial government."
Woolley believes 2022 is a new year with new challenges.
"The North Bay Police Service is well equipped to address those challenges," he said.
"As we have always done, we will continue to do everything in our power to protect all members of our community."
See related: Crime in North Bay getting worse says MacLean's study
In November of 2019, a MacLean's study in the "all crime" category put North Bay and Callander 84th on the list of 237 communities with a crime severity index of 83. That was up from 99 in 2018 .