Lethbridge Police Service. (Photo: Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

Lethbridge ranked #1 in Canada on Crime Severity Index in 2021

Aug 2, 2022 | 11:09 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – Lethbridge once again has the highest Crime Severity Index (CSI) score in the country.

Statistics Canada has released its report on police-reported crime in Canada for 2021. CSI scores take into account both the number of overall incidents reported to police throughout the year and how serious they are.

The CSI score for Lethbridge in 2021 was 128.7, which is the highest score out of the 35 census metropolitan areas listed. The city’s number is down seven percent from the previous year.

The crime rate in Lethbridge last year was 9,836 per 100,000 population, a decrease of seven percent.

This is at least the third consecutive year that Lethbridge has topped the CSI list in Canada.

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The availability of community-specific data from Statistics Canada is limited, but the agency’s report mentions that Lethbridge had the highest rate of opioid-related offences in 2021, at 124 per 100,000 population.

READ MORE: “Lethbridge is a safe community”: officials respond to Crime Severity Index report

Kelowna had the second-highest CSI at 112.3.

The provincial average in Alberta was 101.4, and the national average was 73.7.

Statistics Canada reports that Alberta’s CSI fell by seven percent in 2021 from the previous year, while B.C. was down by five percent.

According to the report, “The violations driving these decreases were breaking and entering; theft of $5,000 or under; and, to a lesser extent, general fraud.” The report also stated, “As was the case at the national level, both provinces also reported relatively large increases in level 1 sexual assault.”

Alberta experienced 15 percent fewer incidents of non-violent crime such as breaking and entering, theft under $5,000, and robbery.

While there were 29 more homicides across Canada in 2021, there were 23 fewer homicides in Alberta in particular. The national increase was largely due to rises in Ontario (+37) and B.C. (+25).

LNN is expecting a response from the Lethbridge Police Service this afternoon, Tuesday, August 2, 2022, in regards to the city’s Crime Severity Index Score.

Read more Lethbridge News Now.