Three men have been arrested in relation to two separate break and enter incidents at the Sudbury Arena in the past few days.
Police are not reporting how people have been entering the building, but clarified they are working with the city to address the issue.
The first incident had police attend the scene of the historic downtown arena at approximately 5:10 a.m. on Monday, where officers were provided with a description of the person responsible, according to a media release issued by police today.
Additional officers arrived on scene to contain the building and search inside, where they located a 39-year-old man matching the description. He was taken into custody, charged with break and enter, and released with a first court appearance scheduled for Oct. 5.
The second incident took place at approximately 1:20 a.m. this morning, when police responded after an employee reported seeing two people inside the building on a video security system. They again set up a containment of the building, during which a 17-year-old boy and an 18-year-old man exited the building from two exits and were immediately taken into custody.
Both of these suspects have been charged with break and released with their first court dates scheduled for Oct. 12 and 13.
Despite these incidents, police report a decrease in property crimes in the city’s downtown core as a result of efforts such as the 412 focused patrols on bikes, cruisers and foot in high-complaint and/or high-risk areas downtown during the past two months.
Break and enters have been down 43 per cent during these two months compared to the same timeframe last year, shoplifting is down 40 per cent and there’s been a decrease in the number of thefts (-17 per cent) and mischief (-16 per cent).
Police have been taking a “problem-orientated,” “research-driven” and “data-proven” approach, according to the media release, which “relies heavily on community collaboration with social services agencies and Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design as an effective way to address the perception of Public Safety and the visibility of crime.”
Their ultimate goal, according to the release, is “revitalizing downtown Sudbury to make it a more inviting place for community members, residents and business owners.”
