Five-month pilot focused on downtown cores and busy commercial corridors ends
The Thunder Bay Police Service has wrapped up Project Support, a five-month pilot initiative aimed at improving public safety in the city’s north and south downtown cores and other high-activity commercial areas. The program, which began on April 20, 2026, recorded 78 arrests and more than 9,100 interactions with businesses and members of the public, police reported.
Project Support combined visible foot and vehicle patrols with targeted enforcement, wellness checks and outreach to community and social-service agencies. Police expanded the original pilot area to include additional commercial corridors after repeated calls for service; resources were reassigned to the Memorial Avenue and Dawson Road areas beginning July 9.
"The combined approach increased officer visibility, helped with investigations and warrant enforcement, and allowed officers to respond more quickly when problems emerged in the expanded patrol areas,"
That assessment came from the Thunder Bay Police Service, which said the project was led by its Operational Support Unit and supplemented by officers from Community Services and the Emergency Task Unit. Other contributors included Primary Response officers, the Break, Enter and Robbery Unit, Investigative Services and Special Constables.
Numbers and referrals: offers outpace acceptance
Police released summary figures for the pilot. They show officers offered social supports far more often than those offers were taken up — a pattern that will shape how future outreach is planned.
- Interactions with public and businesses: more than 9,100
- Social-service referrals offered: 343
- Social-service referrals accepted: 89
- Arrests: 78
- Provincial offence notices: 74
Police noted that approximately 26 per cent of offered referrals were accepted. The TBPS did not provide a breakdown of the charges connected to the 78 arrests, nor did it say how many arrests were the result of outstanding warrants.
Local impact and next steps
For downtown businesses and residents, the project meant a sustained and visible police presence in areas that have seen high volumes of calls for service. Police say the concentrated deployment improved investigative capacity and allowed for quicker responses when incidents occurred in the expanded patrol zones.
While Project Support has formally concluded, the TBPS said visible patrols will continue in Thunder Bay’s downtown and commercial areas. The service has not released a detailed plan or timeline for any follow-up initiatives, leaving open questions about how long enhanced patrols will remain and whether the mix of enforcement and social referrals will be adjusted to improve uptake.
| Metric | Number |
|---|---|
| Public/business interactions | 9,100+ |
| Referrals offered | 343 |
| Referrals accepted | 89 |
| Arrests | 78 |
| Provincial offence notices | 74 |
Community advocates and social-service agencies will likely be watching referral acceptance closely. The project’s relatively low acceptance rate — roughly one in four offers were taken — raises questions about barriers to uptake, the timing or manner of offers, or whether different supports are needed to connect people with services.
City business owners have previously asked for consistent patrols in commercial strips to address disorder that can deter customers and affect staff safety. The TBPS says the pilot’s multi-unit approach enabled greater collaboration on investigations and warrant enforcement; those operational gains will inform future deployments, the service indicated.
As Project Support transitions out of pilot status, the community will be watching for more detailed reporting from police and for measures that tie enforcement to effective, accessible social supports for vulnerable residents. For now, Thunder Bay has a record of arrests and outreach offers; the next task for officials and agencies is to translate that activity into sustained public safety and social outcomes.
