Violent crime in North Bay drops as downtown police foot patrols increase

North Bay Police say a major expansion of downtown foot patrols is cutting crime. The program is now set to expand city-wide. Eric Taschner has the latest.

North Bay’s acting deputy police chief Jeff Warner says police foot patrol hours have more than doubled in the city’s downtown compared to last year.

It’s an approach that’s getting results and will expand to other areas, Warner told reporters Tuesday morning.

“They’ll also be addressing issues in other areas of the city,” he said.

“They’ll be in the Ferris area. If we have complaints in the Airport Hill area, they’ll be there, as well.”

A strategy set to expand city-wide

The downtown foot patrol program was identified by Chief Daryl Longworth and the police board as a community need.

In 2024, North Bay police officers spent 86 hours walking the beat. Warner said North Bay police officers have been on downtown foot patrol for about 200 hours so far in 2025.

“If we have an area that we see that is suddenly being targeted, the foot patrol would be out there,” he said.

“They’ll be out at night, too.”

Once police are fully staffed, the plan is to have two officers dedicated to full-time foot patrol downtown.

“Downtown businesses that I’ve heard from have definitely noticed an increase in the amount of police that they’re seeing in the downtown,” said deputy mayor Maggie Horsfield.

The increased patrols are helping reduce crimes related to social disturbances, Horsfield added.

Data shows a measurable impact on crime

Crime severity index data referenced at Tuesday’s police board meeting showed that non-violent crime dropped 18 per cent, while violent crime was down 3.5 per cent in 2024.

“This is the first time that I’ve actually seen the numbers go down and it’s the same time that we have increased our presence and our visibility,” Warner said.

“It’s the same time that we’ve really engaged with our community partners.”

Increased visibility fosters community confidence

In mid-June, police opened a downtown hub office on Main Street East to increase visibility and for officers to go to when they’re patrolling downtown, which has been used on a regular basis.

“It also gives people the sense that they know that when the vehicles are out front, that there’s somebody nearby,” Horsfield said.

“When you see the police service out and about, you think there must be something happening. But it’s nice to see that they’re going and they’re parking, they’re getting out and they’re just walking the beat.”

Warner said officers are pleased to see a collective effort in addressing downtown issues.

“Combined, (it) has the effect of reducing those numbers of calls for service to us, which certainly helps,” he said.