The numbers are in, and the numbers don’t lie. British Columbia officially holds the title of containing the city that has the highest amount of crime in Canada.
Statistics Canada has just released their stats on police-reported crime statistics in Canada for 2024. And while some things are looking up, others are looking down.
KEY TRENDS
There are a few big things that Statistics Canada notes in their report, such as the decrease of the Crime Severity Index (CSI) for the first time “following three consecutive years of increases, driven largely by a decline in non-violent crime.”
Things like breaking and entering as well as motor vehicle theft are on the decline. Shoplifting, on the other hand, has gone up by 14% compared with 2023’s numbers. This is specifically for incidents of shoplifting of $5,000 or under.
Extortion is another crime that has decreased by 10%, following four straight years of decline. Although, fraud has remained stable with 436 incidents per 100,000 population. Identity theft has also been stable throughout 2024.
HOMICIDE
National homicide rates are also on the decline for the second year in a row, but more women are becoming the victims of such crimes. While 2024 had 8 less homicides total, women were more often the victims at 28 more victims as opposed to 34 fewer male victims.
Moreover, “there was also a large increase in the proportion of women who were killed by a spouse or intimate partner.” These numbers jumped from 32% to 42%, “approximately seven times higher than the proportion of men (6%).”
Homicide rates are also noted as being higher among Indigenous people than non-Indigenous people. 226 homicide victims were also identified by police as racialized. The numbers are similar to 2023’s, with racialized victims accounting for 29%.
TOP CRIME RATES
The report also breaks down the total CSI by province, which tells us that B.C. is sitting at a 93 on the charts. This is higher than the Canadian average of 77.9, but far lower than the top territory Nunavut, which is at 415.2.
And as for that B.C. city that’s topped the metropolitan CSI charts, it’s none other than Chilliwack. Following in second place is another B.C. location– Kamloops, which is at 129.9.
It is important to note that the CSI “is not intended to be used in isolation or as a universal indicator of an area’s overall safety. It is best understood in a broad context with other information on community safety and crime.”
You might also like
