The Ontario Provincial Police is beginning to produce a monthly report of the number of intimate partner violence calls its officers are attending across its North East Region.
In April, a total of 21 intimate partner violence calls were reported by the Sault Ste. Marie OPP detachment, while Superior East, which covers Wawa, Chapleau, Hornepayne, White River and Foleyet, reported 25 IPV calls.
Provincial Constable Kyler Brouwer said of those 21 calls to the Sault Ste. Marie detachment, four incidents resulted in charges, including assault with a weapon, assault, threats, mischief and various breaches and failure to comply charges.
Three incidents resulted in charges among the 25 Superior East calls for service, including assault, mischief and three counts of failure to comply with probation.
To protect the identity of victims, the OPP does not release names in cases of suspected domestic abuse.
Across the North East Region, 424 occurrences related to intimate partner violence were investigated in April, resulting in 121 criminal charges. That region encompasses 12 detachment groups, including Sault Ste. Marie, Superior East, James Bay, Kirkland Lake, Manitoulin, Nipissing West, North Bay, South Porcupine, Temiskaming and West Parry Sound.
Brouwer compiled a list of the IPV incidents and charges over the past 12 months and found an average of 420 calls per month and an average of 142 charges laid per month.
"It's not necessarily increasing or decreasing but it just remains to be a problem," he said of IPV calls.