North Bay police look to open second office, looking at downtown location

North Bay police are looking at opening a second police station, with the downtown as a potential location. It is one of the suggestions considered in the police service’s five-year strategic plan presented Tuesday.

"I believe we're a downtown police service,” said Chief Scott Tod. “We're six blocks north of Main Street. We’ve heard loud and clear through the consultation process people would like to see a presence in the downtown area.”

He said the strategic business plan highlights the need to continue working with community partners.

“I call it the build, change, grow strategy," Tod said.

"It's about building a better service model and growing the service to be more successful and changing to our culture and adapt to the demands of the public."

As part of the plan, the police services board said community consultation found there was interest in a second office.

"That is something that we will need to look into and see how effective that is and relate it to costs, also," said board member and city councillor Johanne Brousseau.

The North Bay Police Service held a community consultation survey in August and September 2021, with the help of Oraclepoll Research.

In all, 72 per cent of respondents said they would like to see an increase in patrol cruisers and 44 per cent want to see more foot patrols downtown.

"The community does want to see more police in the downtown,” said Brousseau.

The Downtown North Bay and Waterfront business administrations service has been asking for a return of a downtown office for years.

"We feel the importance of having a police presence down here … is critical for our businesses as well our customers to feel safe and secure," said board member and business owner Barry Klus.

City police did have a downtown office in the late 1990s. Todd said it closed its doors because it wasn't feasible to continue.

He said other police agencies have adopted the idea to ensure police services are near areas where crime is higher.