Sexual assault calls were at a five-year high in Guelph last year.
The Guelph Police Services Board heard Thursday that there were 124 sex offence calls made to Guelph Police in 2015, up 13.6 per cent over the previous year.
The stats came in the annual report of crime presented by Guelph Police Chief Jeff DeRuyter.
Calls about domestic disputes were also up in 2014, with 1,457 being made to police, up 13 per cent over the previous year.
They were two of the few types of calls made for police assistance last year that actually increased.
Overall crime rates in Guelph were down over the previous year, the police board heard.
"Sex assault calls were the highest they've been in five years," DeRuyter said. "We've done a lot with our partners in the community but it continues to be an issue.
"This is a challenge. This is a pattern we are not pleased with," DeRuyter said.
DeRuyter wondered if the increased amount of calls to police is a result of stepped-up campaigns provincially regarding sexual assault and reporting it.
"Perhaps that messaging is leading to people reporting it more. Maybe that's a silver lining we can take from it," he said of the increased amount of sex assault complaints being made in Guelph.
The other big increases in 2015 came in the area of mental health calls (up 19 per cent) and mental health apprehensions (up 21 per cent).
Other crime stats of note:
- a survey showed 97.3 per cent of Guelph residents feel safe walking in their neighbourhood during the day, 60 per cent at night.
- calls for service in general were at a five-year low in 2015, down over 2,300 from 2014.
- there were 103 stolen vehicles in Guelph last year, up 17 per cent from the year before.
- there was a 6 per cent drop in break and enters.
- motor vehicle collisions involving property damage were down 12 per cent and collisions involving personal injury were down six per cent.
- there were 290 drug calls in Guelph last year, with almost half of them for possession of under 30 grams of marijuana.
- there were 157 impaired driving calls last year.
- in other violent crime calls to police there were: 246 assault calls, 28 robbery and two homicides.
