Timmins Police Chief Sydney Lecky is meeting with members of the Timmins Chamber of Commerce next month and one of the main topics will be the increase in shoplifting.

Lecky said in the six months he’s been leading the service, one message he’s heard loud and clear is about the state of lawlessness in the city.

Timmins Police Chief Sydney Lecky said shoplifting is up 50 percent from 2022 to 2023. (Video photo)

The chief said officers are also frustrated that people they arrest are quickly released, only to offend again and again.

He shared a recent incident that occurred at the Cram-A-Cruiser event in October.

“We’re out there with police lights flashing in front of a grocery store, we’ve got a young man walking in and out the door with a 30-pack of beer,” Lecky said.

“Quite brave.”

In a letter to local business organizations, the chief said burglaries in Timmins are up 50 percent from 2022 to 2023.

“So my message here is that sense of iniquity. It’s pervasive in the community and it’s frustrating for police officers who have to attend and arrest the same person repeatedly, so there has to be a better way.”

The chamber invited the chief to speak at a leadership breakfast on Dec. 3 at the McIntrye Community Center.

House Speaker Tom Faught Jr. told CTV News that members want to know what the new chief’s priorities are on petty crime, theft and vandalism.

The chief said a plan was already in place and he would share details with the group at the breakfast session.

“An application process and an engagement process downtown with some of our customers and our vulnerable customers,” Lecky said.

“But also our business community, making sure they know and see and hear some of us, our grocery stores and retail stores to let them know we’re there and know we’re there. And it’s already giving great results. .”

Lecky said he also relies on organizations like the Chamber to help him lobby for federal bail reform.

Three weeks ago, the province called on the Liberal government to immediately enact measures to increase public safety, such as mandating a three-strikes rule requiring remand for repeat offenders.