Thunder Bay's violent crime augmented by social problems: crime prevention group

The co-ordinator of Thunder Bay's Crime Prevention Council says she can't explain why there was so much violent crime in the city last year.

Thunder Bay struggles with the same social problems that other cities do, said Lee-Ann Chevrette. But she doesn't believe they were any worse than in previous years, when crime rates were lower.

"It could be just a very unfortunate circumstance. Nobody has the answer to that," she said.

The crime prevention council will continue to try and address the root causes of crime, such as poverty, said Chevrette.

"I'd really like to see more support for the homeless population," she said.

"I think that having stable housing for individuals who are at risk would provide a significant protective factor," said Chevrette.

The new StatsCan crime severity index for 2014 ranks Thunder Bay No.1 for homicide and violent crime, in a comparison of 33 census metropolitan areas in Canada.

"All of the research shows that the most effective and efficient ways to address crime prevention or to address crime and violence in a community is to address these risk factors," Chevrette continued.

While she wasn't surprised by the statistics after Thunder Bay logged 11 homicides in 2014, Chevrette was concerned.

"The goal is zero homicides, zero violence in the community," she said. 

In addition to providing more support to the homeless, Chevrette said she'd like to see the city keep moving forward with its poverty reduction strategy and its harm reduction strategies to support people with addictions. 

 "Changes will not happen overnight but, over time, this is the best way to approach them," said Chevrette.