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More ways to combat shoplifting will be identified by the Sault Ste. Marie Police Service as shoplifting continues to increase.

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Reported theft incidents increased by 32% in August compared to last year, with 940 incidents reported, compared to 713 in 2023.

“I would like to see us adapt and change our response locally to try and reduce these numbers because they continue to rise,” said Ward 1 Coun. Sonny Spina during a Sault Ste. Marie Police Services Board meeting Wednesday morning. “We would like to see a plan to get those numbers down by a certain date.”

Spina is a former officer in the municipal service.

Section 4 Con. Marchy Bruni said the police department needs to “protect” business owners.

“This cannot continue,” he said. “The numbers can’t keep going up.”

Stevenson told reporters that additional strategies will begin to be used by officers and reviewed with the police board when members meet Nov. 20.

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“We will come back with more strategies that we can put into the community at the municipal level,” Stevenson said during the meeting. “We can always do more.”

The police service’s community engagement unit can go to businesses and suggest crime prevention tips, including the placement of goods and customer access to the building.

Burglary of homes and businesses fell by 28% in the first eight months of this year, with 280 burglaries reported, compared to 387 from January to August 2023. Stevenson suggests shoplifting is easier than breaking into a building and could explain why the break-ins. are down and shoplifting is up.

Stevenson supports the Ontario government’s recent call for the federal government to update the Criminal Code and tighten bail legislation. The province wants mandatory minimum sentences restored for serious crimes, ending the possibility of bail for people accused of major crimes, including drug trafficking and intimate partner violence, and restricting people who can receive conditional sentences to serve time in the community.

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“It is time for the federal government to look at this legislation,” Stevenson said. “Anything more than what we have now is a good thing.”

British Columbia NDP Leader David Eby wants involuntary care for those with serious addictions and mental illness. Conservative federal opposition leader Pierre Poilievre supports involuntary treatment for minors and inmates struggling with mental health and addictions, but still considers it when it comes to adults.

“I would like to see more than what we have now,” Stevenson said when asked if he would support similar action by the Ontario government. “How that happens in the province is up to them.”

– with files from the Postmedia Network

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On X: @Saultreporter

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