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Non-violent crime declined in Sudbury in 2021, but violent crime spiked

Yellow crime tape blocks off an area (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) Yellow crime tape blocks off an area (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
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While crime rates overall dipped in 2021, violent crime increased last year, Greater Sudbury Police said Monday.

The crime severity index for the city dropped by 4.3 per cent, the first time since 2015 that it has declined.

The CSI is a way to gauge the seriousness of offences committed in a community, and Statistics Canada reports on it for major cities in the country each year.

More serious crimes are given a higher value than less serious offences, and the final tally is an indication of how more serious crime is trending per 100,000 population.

"Between 2020 and 2021, Canada’s total crime rate decreased by 0.3 per cent whereas Greater Sudbury’s crime rate decreased by 4.3 per cent," police said in a news release.

In Sudbury, there was a 13.5 per cent drop in non-violent crimes, including break and enters (down 15 per cent) and identity theft (down 20 per cent).

In contrast, violent crime increased by 13.05 per cent, led by sexual assault reports, which increased by 27 per cent. The number of murders and attempted murders also increased.

"In 2021, there were six homicide investigations and nine attempted murder investigations in Greater Sudbury," police said.

"These were targeted and isolated incidents where the individuals involved were known to each other. Out of the 15 investigations, 14 resulted in the individuals believed to be responsible being arrested and charged."

The StatsCan report suggested the COVID-19 pandemic might have led to more sex assaults going unreported.

"With widespread stay-at-home Orders and overburdened hospital and medical care resources, it may have been difficult for (survivors) to come forward," the report said.

"Likewise, with circumstances around the pandemic evolving in 2021, there may have been more opportunity for individuals to report sexual assaults, but also potentially more opportunity for sexual assaults committed by strangers."

Overall, police said the COVID-19 pandemic was particularly hard on homeless people.

The pandemic "had a dramatic impact on the mental health, physical health, emotional health and financial status of our community members with many of our vulnerable population being displaced into the downtown core," police said.

"We recognize that the increased visibility of homelessness and those living with addictions and mental health illnesses impacts the perception of safety and the visibility of crime, however we know that enforcement is not a suitable or sustainable way to address these concerns." 

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