Halifax Regional Police have responded to 17 bomb threats so far into 2016, five more than in all of 2015.
Inspector Reid McCoombs called this year’s number an “extraordinary high amount” and noted that 10 of those calls have come in since September 15.
The targets have been the Halifax Central Library, Nova Scotia Community College, and Dalhousie University.
While each incident hasn’t necessarily cost the force more money, McCoombs said many members had to get involved.
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“Our canine officers, forensic officers, patrol officers, traffic officers, and then, after the fact, we end up having detectives involved and the investigations,” he said.
Those are officers that could be using that time instead to solve other cases, he said.
READ MORE: 2 Nova Scotia Community College campuses evacuated after apparent threat made
None of the bomb threats from 2015 to the present have been solved.
“Tracking where these calls originate from is challenging,” McCoombs said.
Although none of the threats have led to a bomb being found, McCoombs said that police don’t take any chances.
“We’re going to respond to them all, and we’re going to try to treat them all seriously because … we really don’t know until we get there, until we assess the situation,” said McCoombs.
He added that it’s important that all organizations have an emergency response plan in place for these kind of situations.
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