As Quinte News reported Wednesday the number of serious crimes in Belleville went up in the last quarter of 2023 when compared to the same three months in 2022.
Incidents increased in almost all crime categories, including robberies, assaults, sex offences, and fraud.
Police Chief Mike Callaghan says the city is growing and so is the criminal population and too many repeat offenders keep getting released on bail.
However, Callaghan said several more frontline officers will come on stream this year and the criminal investigation unit will be expanded.
“Because the patrol officers are also having an increase in calls for service and as a result of the increase in complaints there’s criminal investigations that need to be investigated.”
Callaghan expects criminal incidents to increase in the future as the entire region’s population continues to go up rapidly.
Regarding the weak bail system, also known as “catch and release,” Callaghan said bail laws are being toughened but not enough for his liking.
However, he says bail regulations aren’t the only issue, saying there just isn’t enough space in prisons.
“Our governments, in this case both provincial and federal institutions, have not met the increases and ensured there was capacity for an increased population.”
