'Guns, gangs and drugs' linked to Sudbury soaring murder rate

Violent crime is a growing problem in Greater Sudbury, police say, with the number of homicides spiking to 12 in 2022, compared to just two in 2018.

A recent presentation at the city’s police services board also said that, for the second year in a row, Sudbury has the highest violent crime severity index of major cities in Ontario.

The index tracks all crimes in a community, but assigns a higher score for more severe crimes such as murder and assault.

Sudbury has a rate of 127.2, followed by London (106.4), Hamilton (94) and Windsor (93.6).

The presentation said the deaths are linked to the presence of “guns, gangs, stolen vehicles (and) drugs.”

To address the increase in murders, police propose creating a dedicated homicide unit made up of four police officers who would investigate all murders, attempted murders, suspicious deaths and other related incidents.

Another area that is a growing challenge is the rising number of incidents involving weapons. In 2017, there were 27 crimes involving guns and other prohibited weapons.

That number rose steadily until peaking in 2021 at 59 and dipping to 48 in 2022.

“When comparing 2017 to 2019, incidents involving prohibited or restricted weapons have nearly doubled in 2020 and 2021,” the report said.

“In response, there have been multiple joint and multijurisdictional efforts between various law enforcement agencies and services to combat this growing serious problem.”

Overall, police are proposing a $72,774,346 budget for 2023, a 5.76 per cent increase compared to 2022.

Some of the bigger items include $2.65 million put aside to eventually fund a new police headquarters and $1.77 million for other capital work.

Police will present their budget to city council at a special meeting Jan. 17. Read the full presentation here.