(Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

Lethbridge still has Canada’s highest Crime Severity Index, but crime down in 2020

Jul 27, 2021 | 11:56 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – Statistics Canada has released new data on police-reported crime and the associated Crime Severity Indexes (CSI).

Across the country, the rate of police-reported crime as a percentage of the population was down 9.8 per cent, or 5,301 incidents, in 2020 compared to 2019.

The agency chalks much of that up due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Stay-at-home orders and other restrictions meant more people were at home for longer periods of time, while fewer people were out publicly, reducing opportunities for many types of crime. At the same time, the pandemic has resulted in Canadians increasingly turning to the Internet to stay connected with others and to facilitate work, school, shopping and health care, increasing the risk for different types of criminal offences related to the Internet.”

However, Stats Canada notes that the circumstances of the pandemic also exposed and exacerbated issues such as hate crimes and family violence.

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The CSI takes into consideration the number of crimes that are reported by law enforcement agencies and gives more serious incidents a greater weight, resulting in an index score.

Last year, LPS’s then-Deputy Chief Scott Woods told LNN that having a high CSI and being a “dangerous city” are two different things.

“When you look at that index, you have to understand too that some of the weights they put on are actually for property crimes, frauds, and even thefts are higher values than they put on common assaults. When you look at the totality of what we’re measuring and what we’re dealing with at the city, it’s not a real surprise to see that these rates are still trending high.”

READ MORE: Lethbridge has Canada’s highest Crime Severity Index

Stats Canada has released the CSI rankings for 35 census metropolitan areas with the national CSI average being 73.4.

Lethbridge’s score is 138.7, down three per cent from last year’s 141.8.

The second-highest-ranked community is Kelowna, B.C. at 111.9.

In 2020, Lethbridge Police Service (LPS) reported 14,976 total violations, which is a decrease of 8.68 per cent from 2019.

That includes matters involving 2,377 violent crimes, although just over half of those were cleared. The 2020 number is 1.36 per cent higher than the year before it.

Crimes reported in 2020 per 100,000 residents. (Statistics Canada, compiled by Lethbridge News Now)

We have reached out to LPS for further comments.

National ranking of CSI stats

Sort through local police-reported crime stats

Police reported crime severity indexes, 2000-2020. (Stats Canada)

Police reported crime rates in Canada, 1962-2020. (Stats Canada)