The number of reported crimes in 2022 climbed nine per cent in Peterborough, Ont., according to Statistics Canada.
The latest data on incident-based crimes shows there were 6,526 crime incidents in the city in 2022. That’s up 650 incidents from 2021 — or approximately nine per cent.
Looking at the past five years, Statistics Canada reports incidents have increased with the exception of 2019 which saw a 0.32 per cent dip:
- 2017: 5,034 incidents
- 2018: 5,353 incidents (up 4.1 per cent)
- 2019: 5,342 incidents (down 0.32 per cent)
- 2020: 5,621 incidents (up 4.81 per cent)
- 2021: 5,876 incidents (up 4.64 per cent)
Peterborough Police Service chief Stuart Betts says the numbers correspond with the area’s growing population. The service’s jurisdiction includes the city, the village of Lakefield and Cavan-Monaghan Township.
“As our population continues to grow within the urban centres versus the rural centres, then we’re likely to see corresponding crime go up with that and that’s a challenge for policing,” he said.
There were three homicides in the city in 2022, compared with two in 2021. Some crimes that saw increases include robberies (up 4.9 per cent), extortion (19 incidents compared to two), criminal harassment (up 42 per cent), sexual assault (up nine per cent), and motor vehicle thefts (up 40.7 per cent).
Assaults against a peace officer saw a slight dip from 33 incidents in 2021 to 28 in 2022.
Betts said that officers are responding to more property crime, but that the number of violent crime incidents is down. There were 1,107 incidents in 2022, down 4.18 per cent from 2021 (1.135 incidents).
The report also notes the number of crime incidents is outpacing case clearance. In 2022, city police cleared 2,579 incidents with 2,085 individuals being charged — on par with 2021’s data of 2,555 cleared cases and 2,180 people being charged.
“It is reflective of the complexity of the types of crimes that we were seeing,” Betts said.
The data comes as the service announced a dozen new closed-circuit television cameras (CCTV) are now operational in the downtown core. The cameras were funded by a provincial grant.
“We hope that that will serve as a preventative measure, but make no mistake — we will use those cameras and what is recorded there to help us solve crimes,” Betts said.
City Coun. Alex Bierk says more supports need to be available for people facing addiction, housing challenges and more.
“Right now, we don’t have that,” he said. “We don’t have sustainable affordable housing for people. We don’t have supportive housing for people that need it. We don’t have good access to the type of healthcare that people need like long-term treatment.”
He says those aren’t short-term solutions that will have an immediate impact on crime incidents, however, he notes the issue of rising crime has taken years to create.
Peterborough County
In Peterborough County, with the exception of one township, the number of incident-based crimes was down across the county (Cavan-Monaghan Township excluded). Stats Canada reports the following incidents:
- Asphodel-Norwood Township: Down 28 per cent — 25 incidents in 2022; there were 34 in 2021.
- Douro-Dummer Township: Down 5.5 per cent — 29 incidents in 2022; there were 30 in 2021.
- Municipality of Trent Lakes: Down 8.7 per cent — 26 incidents in 2022; there were 28 in 2021.
- Havelock-Belmont-Methuen Township: Down 9.1 per cent — 41 incidents in 2022; there were 44 in 2021.
- Selwyn Township: Down 6.9 per cent — 62 incidents in 2022; there were 66 in 2021.
- Otonabee-South Monaghan Township: Down 7.3 per cent — 28 incidents in 2022; there were 30 in 2021.
- North Kawartha Township: Up 2.65 per cent — 17 incidents in 2022; there were 16 in 2021.
Peterborough County OPP Const. Dan Gay said the decrease may be due in part to its mobile crisis response team which assists for incidents where mental health and addictions are factors.
“They’re actually reaching out to those people and helping them connect to resources to obviously support them prior to any sort of bad situation,” he said.
— with files from Germain Ma/Global News Peterborough
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