A news release from North Bay Police states that the region’s overall CSI (Crime Severity Index) increased by 7.04 per cent in 2025 compared with 2024. The Violent CSI increased by 7.84 per cent, while the Non-Violent CSI increased by 6.44 per cent.
The Crime Severity Index measures both how much crime is reported to police and how serious that crime is. Not all crimes have the same impact on the index. More serious crimes are given a higher weight based on national court sentencing data.
This means that a small number of serious crimes can have a large impact on the CSI, especially in a smaller community.
In 2025, North Bay recorded three attempted murders and one homicide. Other increases in violent crime included:
- Sexual assaults increased by 5 per cent.
- Robberies increased by 29 per cent.
- Weapons-related calls increased by 16 per cent.
“The Crime Severity Index is one measure of crime, but it does not tell the whole story about community safety,” said Chief Daryl Longworth. “Serious offences can have a large impact on the index. At the same time, having a full staffing complement has increased our ability to conduct proactive policing and investigations.”
With its staffing complement restored, NBPS has increased its ability to conduct proactive patrols, enforcement and investigations. This can lead to more offences being identified, investigated and cleared. In 2025:
- Traffic enforcement increased by 97 per cent.
- Fraud investigations increased by 20 per cent.
- Shoplifting calls increased by 15 per cent.
“We want people to report crime. That may mean we see more incidents in our statistics, but that is not necessarily a bad thing,” said Chief Longworth. “It means we have a better understanding of what is happening in North Bay and where we need to focus our efforts.”
While North Bay’s CSI increased in 2025, the index has decreased by approximately 23 per cent since 2021, both overall and for violent and non-violent crime.
The CSI is based on crime reported to police. It is one tool used to understand crime trends and should be looked at alongside other local information when considering community safety.
NBPS says it will continue to monitor local crime trends and use this information to guide policing efforts.
“Our focus is on preventing crime, supporting victims, disrupting criminal activity and keeping our community safe,” said Chief Longworth. “We will continue to push forward and use local data to guide where our resources are needed most.”
