THUNDER BAY – The Thunder Bay Police Service launched “Crime Mapping” a few months ago. This new feature allows residents to see which crimes are being committed in live time.
Looking at the map, the three homicides in the city have not been recorded on the map. Checking with City officials, including members of the Police Services Board it appears that in Thunder Bay homicides are recorded as “sudden deaths” in the C.A. D. system that the Thunder Bay Police Service operates.
“We are providing the public with the location of incidents involving crimes of violence, property crime and motor vehicle collisions (Other calls for service are not displayed). Homicides do not get displayed on this map because they are initially classified as “Sudden Deaths”. Sudden Deaths are most often not suspicious in nature and can include suicides. We do not post these locations on the map. Homicide locations are conveyed to the public as part of a media release.”
Rather than recording homicides on the Crime Mapping, like every other jurisdiction in North America, apparently Thunder Bay doesn’t record murders as homicides, the Thunder Bay Police Service call them “sudden deaths”.
This approach is yet another demonstration of a Police Administration who don’t seem to fully understand the impact of public information.
There is a great deal of difference between a suicide, and a homicide. The Police Administration knows that, so do the public. On Crime Mapping there is not a listing for a suicide.
The move to qualify a homicide as a “sudden death” and then try to blur the issue with suicide is a smokescreen effort that is easy to see through.
The move not to include homicides appears more political posturing by Thunder Bay’s already too political Police Administration.
The information on homicides is already released to the public that Police Administration doesn’t put the information on Crime Mapping means that in many cases a skewed information picture is presented to researchers and others who look at the information.
One of the benefits to programs like crime mapping is that it should present a complete picture of the crime situation. That the Thunder Bay Police Administration doesn’t see that is part of the overall problem the Chief of Police and his inner circle seem unwilling to understand or even comprehend.
Politically, with crime one of the key issues in the civic election campaign, that lack of comprehension by Chief Herman is likely only assisting Keith Hobbs in his efforts to win the Mayor’s seat at the Council table. Based on their public confrontations, it is not likely that Chief Herman is pulling for Hobbs to win, but his actions and that of his administration are likely going to assist Hobbs in his campaign.
One might wonder if the Chief sees, or understands the ramifications of what he is doing?
James Murray