North Bay police open downtown office to increase its presence in the area

In an effort to boost visibility and deter crime, police in North Bay will operate an office in the city’s downtown for at least the next six months.

North Bay police have opened an office in the heart of the downtown.

Located at 168 Main St. E, the office is part of Chief Daryl Longworth’s plan to increase police presence in the area, which, in turn, will hopefully deter people from committing crimes.

“Calls for service down here have dropped a little bit and we’re hoping to see that continue,” acting deputy chief Jeff Warner told reporters.

“We want our officers out on the street being visible. Every officer has a key for the building in their cruiser, and they can stop at any time.”

The location is solely for patrol officers and isn’t open to the public to report crimes.

Police can use the space to complete reports, take a short break or get paperwork done without having to return to the main station headquarters.

It’s part of a six-month pilot project.

“This is a huge step in protecting the downtown and all the investments that have happened down here,” said Katie Bevan, downtown business owner and chair of the North Bay Downtown Improvement Area.

In addition to the office, downtown foot and bike patrols are already back on this summer.

“Every platoon now at the beginning of the shift will assign one or two officers strictly to foot patrol,” Warner said.

“That doesn’t mean they can always get down here. It depends on calls for service. We have dedicated bike patrol officers on every shift.”

Warner said the added police presence will make criminals think twice before going downtown.

Police had a downtown community hub-of-sorts in the 1990s and early 2000s.

“As a police services board member and all of our police services board members, we’re 100 per cent in favour of getting this done and getting a presence downtown,” said Mayor Peter Chirico.

Downtown North Bay is partnering with police on the project by covering the cost of rent for the six-month pilot. Executive director Amber Livingstone said they’ve already seen an increase in police presence after Longworth said he would send more foot patrols in the area.

“They track all of it,” Livingstone said.

“They’re able to give us stats on how many hours they’ve spent downtown. Many towns across our province and across the country are experiencing the same kinds of things. So, it’s not unique to North Bay. Some of our residents may not be used to seeing it in your face and seeing how graphic it has become. It just shows that there’s a change in the world.”

Police will meet with the business community in the fall to re-evaluate the downtown office idea and see if it’s worth keeping it open.