Property crime down last year, police stats show

Recently released year-end statistics from Sault Ste. Marie Police Service shows property crime rates in the Sault dropped overall by five-and-a-half per cent in 2022 when compared to the previous year. 

The drop in property crime reported to police last year was largely driven by a nearly 24 per cent decrease in break-and-enters and a nearly 25 per cent decrease in attempted break-and-enters in the city.     

“My feeling is that property crimes are down potentially due to the services of the community being available to mitigate that need for increased money to buy drugs, to go into that cycle of long-term drug usage,” said Sault Ste. Marie Police Service Chief Hugh Stevenson, speaking with reporters following the open portion of the Police Services Board meeting Thursday. “The majority of our break-and-enters would be related to the drug industry. They need to steal things to sell them to buy drugs, and that becomes the cycle.”

Stevenson told police board members during its monthly meeting that “proactive” efforts by the city as a whole — the police chief listed the Downtown Ambassador Program, Community Wellness Bus and other mental health and security-related services as examples of this — have had a positive impact upon the drop in crimes of property.    

“When we give those supports to people in crisis, there is no doubt that there will be an impact in terms of how soon or how frequently they come into contact with the justice system, or the police, and that’s what we want,” said Stevenson. “We want people to get served so that their needs are taken care of, and we’re talking basic quality needs — do they have food, do they have shelter, and at some point, can we get them off the narcotics so they can lead fulfilling lives?” 

Those same year-end stats, however, show the kids may not be alright. 

Crimes involving the Young Offenders Act saw large jumps in assaults (39.5 per cent), thefts (104 per cent) and ‘other’ Canadian Criminal Code offences (44.7 per cent) in 2022 when compared to the previous year. 

Break-and-enters involving young offenders also saw a dramatic increase, from a single offence in 2021 to 15 of them in 2022 — the highest number of youth-related break-and-enters since 2018 when a total 20 were recorded by police.   

“It raises the issue that we all collectively in our community, whether it be mental health organizations, whether it be community supports, need to examine this group of people and ensure that we get services to them sooner than later so that this trend of increase in young offenders, which is 17 [years of age] and down, gets addressed,” Stevenson told reporters. “I think the numbers are indicative of something happening here in one year, so let’s take a look at it — let’s call our partners and look at what their numbers look like in terms of how many they are helping; is there more this year than last year, or even less this year?” 

Although violent crime rates were down in 2022 when compared to the year prior, Stevenson told city council earlier this year that violent crime has seen an 80 per cent increase over the past five years.  

Stevenson told reporters Thursday that an increased use of drugs, guns and weaponry on the streets as a result of the illicit drug industry has been driving the rate of violent crime upwards, causing a “much more extensive labour issue” for Sault Ste. Marie Police Service which requires more officers to respond to incidents.

“We have seen that increase practically, and through evidence of data, to show that communities today are more dangerous than they were before,” he said. 

The 2022 year-end statistics can be found on the Sault Ste. Marie Police Service website.