Sault Ste. Marie residents can now check the latest local crime trends without waiting for a board meeting, as the city’s police service has posted its 2026 year-to-date statistics online. The downloadable reports on the service’s website cover January through May and break down incidents by category, giving the public a direct look at what officers are seeing on the streets.
The move is part of a broader push for openness under new leaders at the Sault Ste. Marie Police Service Board. Chair Nuala Kenny took her post in July 2025 following a board shake-up, and Chief Brent Duguay — a 30-year veteran of the service — was officially appointed chief in August 2025 and sworn in that November. Both have stressed the need for plain talk and accountability after past budget troubles.
Chair Kenny has described the $44-million police budget for 2026 as a “no B.S.” spending plan, with a 10.97 per cent increase over the year before. She noted during the budget presentation that year-to-date calls for service in 2025 had climbed to 32,000, up from 29,000 at the same point in 2024. The force projects a roughly $350,000 surplus this year after trimming a 2025 deficit from a projected $2.3 million down to about $922,000.
Duguay has flagged a troubling rise in firearms showing up at high-risk calls, pointing to drug trafficking from southern Ontario as a driver. Officers drew their firearms 11 times in the first quarter of 2026. The year before, the service handled four homicides, a five per cent jump in intimate partner violence cases, and a spike in complex calls that led to nearly $1 million in unbudgeted overtime.
On the enforcement side, the service made its largest-ever drug seizure in October 2025, pulling roughly $1.4 million worth of fentanyl, cocaine, and methamphetamine off the streets. A new downtown substation, Division 2 on Brock Street, opened in April 2025 to boost patrols and community ties. The force currently fields about 166 officers and 77 civilian staff.
Residents can find the monthly and year-to-date statistical reports any time on the police service’s website, covering crime categories from assaults to property offences.
