Thunder Bay's mayor says the criminal courts are feeble — and he's challenging them to change.

The comments come in a week that began with a Thunder Bay woman being attacked and robbed two more Mac's stores being targeted by thieves.

Keith Hobbs said many people who are out on probation are committing crimes. He noted it’s a long-standing trend in the city that needs to be addressed.

'I'm going to take on the Crown and the judiciary'—Thunder Bay Mayor Keith Hobbs

“It's a travesty ... it's a joke,” Hobbs said. “So I'm going to take on the Crown and the judiciary right now and challenge them to get tough on crime.”

Hobbs said he also thinks the city's police service needs to go back to a zone policing model — where officers get to know an area of the city and take ownership of it.

“I think a different style of policing is needed, as I've said for a few years now,” added Hobbs, who ran a mayoral campaign that focused on reducing crime. “[The] new chief is talking about his own policing concept, which is getting back to that neighbourhood-style policing.”