Greater Sudbury police responding to eight intimate partner violence calls a day, report shows

Greater Sudbury Police Service is receiving an average of eight calls a day related to intimate partner violence (IPV), according to its 2024 annual crime report.

Sudbury police officers have been responding to more intimate partner violence calls, with last year's 2, 857 incidents marking a 38-per-cent increase from 2023 and a 63-per-cent increase from 2022.

However, there was a slight decrease in the number of incidents where officers confirmed that intimate violence was a factor. 

Greater Sudbury Police Chief Sara Cunningham said the issue remains deeply concerning — and likely more widespread than data can show.

"We know that IPV is underreported, and even though we're still seeing an increase in that area, we know that there's a lot of individuals out there not coming forward to police that are living in abusive relationships," Cunningham said.

As part of the annual report, the police force is recommending a $147,500 investment over 60 months in a "virtual community response program." 

The goal is to allow officers to respond remotely to "low-threshold" domestic violence calls, freeing up time for training, prevention and follow-up.

"We don't want anybody living in this type of situation," Cunningham said.

"We want to make sure that when an individual chooses to call the police, that our officers are trained to investigate these situations, that they provide victims of IPV with the resources they need."

Shelter workers say support systems are stretched thin

Marlene Gorman, executive director of YMCA Sudbury, said the increase in intimate partner violence reports isn't surprising.

Gorman said the Genevra House gets three to four calls a day from women leaving their abusive partner, but that the 32-bed shelter is usually at capacity.

"The most disheartening piece is when women are calling us and we're full and we don't have a bed for them and their children, we have to explore other avenues," said

"That's a really tough place to be in for women who are reaching out to us at their most vulnerable time, as well as for the staff who are on the other end of that call and feeling somewhat helpless to support them when we are full and they have very other alternatives."

She's calling on the provincial government to declare intimate partner violence an epidemic, saying it could unlock additional support for emergency shelters. 

Gorman said the lack of affordable housing is also preventing some women from moving out of shelters. 

"Right across Canada, shelters are at capacity, and the reason they're at capacity is because we're a bottleneck. There's nowhere," she said.