he number of assault cases across Chatham-Kent (CK) rose quite a bit in 2025 compared to previous years.
According to the CK Police's annual report released on Friday, officers responded to 610 assault cases. This is up 18 percent from 2024, when police responded to 516 incidents.
The overall number of assault cases in 2025 is also up around 30 per cent from 2022, which had 467 cases.
Sexual assaults saw a 10 per cent increase in 2025, sitting at 113 cases. Aggravated assaults saw a large drop, going from 26 in 2024 to 10 last year.
There were no homicides across CK in 2025. However, there were five attempted murder cases. While no one was purposely killed last year, the total number of murders and attempted murders was higher than in the last three years.
The crime with the biggest increase in cases was criminal harassment. There were 463, up 82 percent from the 255 incidents reported in 2024.
Other personal crimes that saw an increase in 2025 were abductions, drugs, and missing persons.
Not all personal crimes had a yearly increase. Along with aggravated assault, robbery cases dropped from 35 to 25, and weapon cases went from 38 to 31.
The crimes that saw the biggest drop weren't personal, but involved property. Break-and-enter cases involving homes went from 383 in 2024 to 351 in 2025. Situations involving businesses saw an even bigger drop, going from 338 to 191.
Both break-and-enter totals were the lowest seen in CK over the past four years.
Overall thefts rose in 2025, though the number of vehicles stolen dropped from 244 to 165.
Property crimes such as arson, fraud, counterfeiting, and mischief all saw yearly increases.
