Chatham-Kent police are reporting that robberies and break-ins increased in 2017.
The police services board was told they're up mainly because of the rise in drug use like crystal meth and fentanyl.
Robberies in the area jumped from ten in 2016 to 29 last year or a 190% increase, break and enters went up from 556 two years ago to 722 in 2017 for a 30% jump, and drug crimes went from 134 in 2016 to 207 last year for a 54% rise.
The good news, according to local police, is that there were no murders or attempted murders last year compared to one in each category two years ago. In 2017, aggravated assaults also went down, but sexual assaults went up.
