An survey released this year by the Greater Sudbury Police Service showed the community had a higher level of concern for street and property crimes compared to other years.
The Police Service took the issue to heart and have made changes to the way they police the community as a result.
“Property crimes remain a priority for this community and therefore, for this police service,” said Chief of Police Ian Davidson. “Property crimes are something that impacts people in a very real and personal way.
“We looked at the solution rates and the number of street and property crimes we get and we decided to change the format on how we investigate it.”
In July 2007, the Greater Sudbury Police revamped their Street Crime Unit, placing the focus specifically on property crimes – break and enters, vandalisms and thefts.
The Street Crime Unit now consists of a sergeant, four constables, and a property crime unit coordinator. The role of the coordinator is to oversee the investigation process, coordinate the follow-up process and examine any similarities in crimes.
“What we have done in the past is individual officers will respond, conduct the investigation and lay the appropriate charges,” Davidson said. “But that does not deal as effectively as we can around the consistency of who's committing these crimes. By having one person look at these crimes, we can respond more effectively as an organization.”
Since the inception of the newly revamped Street Crime Unit, over $550,000 has been recovered in stolen property, including 24 stolen vehicles.
“Our solution rate is going up and that is obviously an important aspect of what we're doing,” the chief said.
However, he pointed out it's not all about solving the crimes.
“It's about our capacity to get back to people who are victims of crime,” he said. “We found (because of a number of factors) officers were not responding in as timely a fashion as we would have liked.
With a more coordinated approach, a victim of crime is far more likely to receive a call back in a timely manner, either to acquire any new information or to be updated on the status of the investigation.
“Overall, we've found the changes to be effective and we're looking to make some more changes in the future, all with a view of being more effective and being better at communicating with people who have been victimized,” Davidson said.
As for adding more officers to the Street Crime Unit, he said they are going to let the dust settle first to see how effective the new program really is.
“If it requires additional bodies, we're happy to do it,” he said. “The issue for us is trying to take the number of resources we have and make sure they're deployed as effectively as possible.”
