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Sault police board wary of data behind Top 10 crime ranking

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A recent online news article suggesting Sault Ste. Marie is saddled with the sixth worst crime rate in Canada is based on limited data supplied by the public, Sault Ste. Marie Police Services Board cautions.

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Sault Online published the story on Oct. 11, citing data from Numbeo, a collaborative online database.

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Data is very based on the individual who’s putting it in,” said chair Lisa Vezeau-Allen during a board meeting last Thursday. “It’s not a data analyst. It’s not an authorized authority of actually taking hard data, so it’s very subjective.”

The Ward 2 councillor added the information on the website was “not an accurate representation of our community.”

Chief Hugh Stevenson agreed.

From my standpoint, it’s not an accurate depiction of crime in Sault Ste. Marie,” he said. “From an empirical perspective the sampling procedures are obviously challengeable.”

The Sault was ranked 35th of 326 police services in Statistics Canada’s crime severity index for 2021. North Battleford, Sask., was No. 1. Sixth place was held by Yellowknife. No Ontario communities were in the Top 20. Timmins was the highest ranked city in the province at No. 22. The Sault was second followed by Kenora at No. 40.The Statistics Canada data “compares apples to apples and oranges to oranges,” said Stevenson.

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The story’s publication comes during a year when many offences, including assaults, domestic violence, break and enters and acts of mischief, are at five-year lows. Thefts from vehicles, frauds and bail violations are up.

The Numbeo data will spur Stevenson to prevent crime in the city.

I look at it as a challenge to improve,” he said. Stevenson gets two to three calls per week from residents and business owners upset about break-ins.

I take every one of those seriously,” he said. The police department’s crime prevention through environmental design and central support units are in place to help residents with strategies to prevent burglaries and assist them after incidents happen.

The online story also cited an article published on the internet by University Magazine, a site “created by a student for students.” That site also said the Sault “is known as a hub” for smuggling drugs and weapons. Stevenson was wary of the suggestion.

I’d like to see the data that supports that,” he said. “I don’t see us as a smuggling hub in any way. I don’t have any evidence of that.”

btkelly@postmedia.com

On Twitter: @Saultreporter

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