Lethbridge was tied for the fourth-highest Crime Severity Index in Canada for 2023. (Photo: Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

Lethbridge slightly improves on national ranking of Crime Severity Index

Jul 25, 2024 | 8:54 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – New data from Statistics Canada shows Lethbridge is slowly but surely getting better when it comes to crime, relative to other communities.

The agency has released its report on police-reported crime statistics in Canada for 2023. It includes the Crime Severity Index (CSI), which is a score that takes into account both the number and severity of criminal acts.

Lethbridge was tied for having the fourth-highest CSI in the country with Winnipeg with scores of 129.1. Kamloops took the top spot for 2023, followed by Chilliwack and Red Deer.

In each year from 2019-2021, Lethbridge had the highest CSI in all of Canada. That improved to third place in 2022.

Edmonton was ranked at 11th place while Calgary was 25th.

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Nationally, Statistics Canada says child pornography was the largest contributor to the change in the overall CSI for 2023. There were 21,417 incidents last year, an increase of 52 per cent. That includes a 14 per cent jump in child pornography cases in Alberta.

Fraud – especially identity theft and identity fraud – was the second-highest contributor to the CSI rankings, which rose by 12 per cent from 2022.

Violent crimes, which tend to have a larger impact on CSI scores per incident, were down. The country had a total of 778 homicides in 2023, falling by 14 per cent.

Use the following link to see the full report on police-reported crime statistics in Canada for 2023.

LNN is expecting to speak with officials from the Lethbridge Police Service and City of Lethbridge later today regarding the Crime Severity Index.

READ MORE: Lethbridge had third-highest Crime Severity Index in Canada in 2022

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