Crime was down in may areas in North Bay in January according to the latest North Bay Police crime statistics.

That includes assaults, break and enters, drug charges and calls for service which were down by nearly 100.

Deputy Chief Scott Tod says collisions were a major problem with 180 accidents and 14 people injured in 10 of them.

He says the many collisions occurred near intersections.

“A number of collisions where people were sliding through intersections and striking vehicles. The result is they were going too fast. Even though the road is icy or there’s snow on the road that’s something drivers can anticipate,” Tod says.

He says distracted driivng is still an issue.

“The legislation has changed with stiffer fines. But a number of people still believe that they’re good enough drivers to text or be on their smart device and drive at the same time. We know from studies that’s not possible,” Tod says.

Tod says the clearance rate for sexual offenses year to year went from 3 cases to 33 this year. He says it went down for assaults from 49-28.

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