Today, Thursday, July 25, 2013, the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, or CCJS, released its annual report showing 2012 crime statistics in 33 Census Metropolitan Areas, or CMAs, across Canada. The report, entitled, “Police Reported Crime Statistics in Canada, 2012” shows that while crime rates are decreasing across Canada, Regina continues to outpace the national average decrease, with a 10.0% reduction in total Crime Rate and a reduction of 6.0% in the Crime Severity Index. This brings Regina’s crime rate to the lowest it’s been since 1991, when Statistics Canada began its current method of collection and comparison of crime data. However, in spite of decreases that outpace the national average, Regina still occupies the position of having the second highest total Crime Rate and highest Crime Severity Index (CSI) when compared to other CMAs.
A CMA (Census Metropolitan Area) refers to an urban core and its surrounding area with:
– a total population of 100,000 or more,
– and at least 50,000 people residing within the urban core itself.
The Regina CMA includes the City of Regina as well as the communities of Lumsden, Regina Beach, Belle Plaine, Pense, Rowatt, Richardson, White City, Pilot Butte, Balgonie and Edenwold.
The CCJS report presents statistics showing Crime Rate, which is a measure of the number of crimes per 100,000 population within a given period of time. Total Crime Rate is further divided to indicate Violent Crime Rate and Property Crime Rate. Since 2009, Statistics Canada has also adopted the Crime Severity Index which compares both volume and seriousness of offences between regions. Unlike the Crime Rate, the Crime Severity Index accounts for the seriousness of crime by assigning crime types “weights” based on conviction rates and lengths of sentences – a Homicide would therefore have a much greater effect on the Crime Severity Index than a single Theft. The Crime Severity Index is comprised of two categories: the Violent Crime Severity Index and the Non-violent Crime Severity Index.
Comparisons of Crime Rate – Regina CMA and Canada:
Crime Rate | Violent Crime Rate | Property Crime Rate | ||||
Regina | Canada | Regina | Canada | Regina | Canada | |
2011 | 9,753 | 5,756 | 1,497 | 1,231 | 5,670 | 3,521 |
2012 | 8,755 | 5,588 | 1,367 | 1,190 | 4,988 | 3,414 |
% change | -10.0% | -3.0% | -9.0% | -3.0% | -12.0% | -3.0% |
Comparisons of Crime Severity Index – Regina CMA and Canada
Crime Severity Index (CSI) | Violent CSI | Non-Violent CSI | ||||
Regina | Canada | Regina | Canada | Regina | Canada | |
2011 | 123.4 | 77.4 | 120.7 | 85.4 | 124.1 | 74.4 |
2012 | 116.0 | 75.0 | 110.1 | 81.4 | 117.9 | 72.5 |
% change | -6.0% | -3.0% | -9.0% | -5.0% | -5.0% | -3.0% |
Of particular note: Regina’s reductions in the Violent Crime Severity Index place Regina fourth in a comparison with other CMAs. As noted, in spite of better than Canadian-average decreases across the board for total Crime Rate and Crime Severity Index and the sub-categories of each, Regina still shows as having the second highest Crime Rate and highest Crime Severity Index.
In a news scrum today, Police Chief Troy Hagen said, “We are encouraged to see the 2012 statistics showing another year-over-year reduction in crime in Regina, but we cannot become complacent. We continue to make progress toward the long-term goal of working with our partners to make Regina a safer community. We remain committed to public safety first.”
“We continue to make strong progress as seen in the reduction of both the overall crime rate and the crime severity index, but we acknowledge more work needs to be done,” said Mayor Michael Fougere. “I applaud Chief Hagen and the Regina Police Service for its work in keeping our city safe. Also, I want to thank our residents for working together on crime prevention.”
You must be logged in to post a comment.