Provincial Police are seeing a 20% increase in drug crime in Sioux Lookout.
Seventeen of the 30 cases recorded in the first six months of this year have been related to trafficking incidents.
The other thirteen were possession-related incidents.
Acting Detachment Commander, Inspector Jeff Duggan, says the number is higher than in Kenora.
“I can tell you that these numbers, despite a larger community street crime unit in Kenora and the assistance of the Organized Crime Enforcement Bureau that’s stationed in Kenora, these numbers are significantly higher than what we would typically see in Kenora,” says Insp. Duggan.
He credits the number to the Community Street Crime Unit, which was bolstered by the addition of a second officer.
“As we see drug crimes and the infiltration of gangs from really all across Ontario and all points west, and the violent crime that supersedes those people moving in, we have to adjust the amount of people we have working on those cases. Those are complex cases that our officers work on.”
During the same period, incidents of violent crime, that includes assaults and sexual assaults, are down 12.6% over the same period in 2023.
Property crime, such as break-ins, thefts and fraud, is up 3.2%.
Police responded to 2,600 calls for service until the end of June.
