The Saint John Police Force (SJPF) saw a nearly five per cent increase in calls for service in 2021.
Yearly figures were presented to the Saint John Board of Police Commissioners on Tuesday.
There were a total of 55,243 calls for service last year, compared to 52,685 the year prior.
Officers generated nearly 9,100 incident reports, an increase of around five per cent.
Chief Robert Bruce highlighted where the force is seeing some of those increases.
“When you look at the violent crime situation, it was up a little bit in 2021. Same with property crimes and mental health [related calls],” said Bruce.
Property crimes — including thefts, break and enters and mischief — jumped by 30 per cent to 2,298, while calls involving violent crime were up by about two per cent to 843.
There were also 1,758 calls relating to mental health, an increase of nearly eight per cent from the previous year.
Bruce said some of the increases they saw relate to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“As we look at the trends on things, we can see that has an impact on us, as it has on every police organization in the country,” he said.
While arrests climbed slightly year-over-year to 1,472, the number of reported motor vehicle collisions climbed by 12 per cent to 1,920.
There were 102 files involving impaired driving, up from 72 the year before. The total number of tickets issued dropped by nearly 20 per cent to 1,083.
