This morning, Thursday, October 29, 2020, the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics released its annual comparison of police-reported* crime statistics for 2019.
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/pub/85-002-x/2020001/article/00010-eng.pdf?st=GGOJYQTj
This report compares police-reported crime, for 2019, across Canada’s 35 Census Metropolitan Areas**, looking at: total incidents of crime (Crime Rate), and an index that takes into consideration the severity of crimes committed (Crime Severity Index).
NOTE: This year’s CCJS report on Police-Reported Crime is out later than the usual July release date. Because these are 2019 statistics, already 10 months out of date, we are providing the summary of Regina stats for your information; there’s little analysis we can offer that would be relevant 10 months after the fact. The Regina Board of Police Commissioners Meeting, earlier this week, received the most up-to-date statistics for 2020 (to the end of September), which already show some significant changes in overall crime and specific crime classes. The Board report, with the 2020 year-to-date statistics can be found at https://www.reginapolice.ca/about-us/board-of-police-commissioners/. Scroll down the page to find 2020 Board Reports.
CRIME RATE
Definition: The Crime Rate is a measure of the number of crimes per 100,000 population. Using this measure enables comparisons of crime counts over time and between regions.
In the Regina CMA, in 2019, the Total Crime Rate rose slightly (2%), over that of 2018 to 9,827 reported crimes per 100,000 population. That is the 3rd highest crime rate of the 35 CMAs. As sub-categories of total crime rate: the Violent Crime Rate showed no year-over year change, and a 15th place ranking among CMAs; the Property Crime Rate increased 5% over 2018, 4th among all CMAs. The percentage change over a ten year period (2009-2019) for the Property Crime Rate showed no change; both Violent Crime and Total Crime show decreases,( -28% and -8%, respectively) for the ten-year period of 2009-2019.
| Regina CMA Crime Rate, 2019 | ||||
| 2019 | CMA
Rank |
% change
2018-2019 |
% change
2009-2019 |
|
| Total Crime Rate | 9,827 | 3 | 2% | -8% |
| Violent Crime Rate | 1,243 | 15 | 0% | -28% |
| Property Crime Rate | 6,359 | 4 | 5% | 0% |
CRIME SEVERITY INDEX (CSI)
Definition: Unlike the Crime Rate, the CSI accounts for the seriousness of crime by “weighting” crime types based on conviction rates and lengths of sentences – a Homicide therefore has a much greater effect on the CSI than a single Theft. However, high-volume, low-severity crime types can still have a substantial impact on the CSI.
In the Regina CMA, in 2019, the Total Crime Severity Index rose 1%, over that of 2018. The Regina CMA ranked 3rd among CMAs in Total Crime Severity. The Violent Crime Crime Severity Index showed an 8% increase from 2018 to 2019: 4th among CMAs. The Non-violent Crime Severity Index showed a decrease (-1%) in comparison to 2018, 2nd among all CMAs. The percentage change over a ten year period (2009-2019) shows decreases in Total Crime Severity and both Violent and Non-violent Crime Severity.
| Regina CMA Crime Severity Index, 2019 | ||||
| 2019 | CMA
Rank |
% change
2018-2019 |
% change
2009-2019 |
|
| Total Crime Severity Index | 130 | 3 | 1% | -10% |
| Violent Crime Severity Index | 133 | 4 | 8% | -15% |
| Non-violent Crime Severity Index | 129 | 2 | -1% | -7% |
Despite annual increases in a few crime categories, the Regina Census Metropolitan area has experienced long-term crime reductions compared to ten years prior.
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Other definitions:
*Police-Reported Crime – CCJS only utilizes police-reported crime for its report. Police-reported crime includes:
- incidents that a complainant (usually a victim or witness) chooses to report to police, or
- incidents handled by other agencies (such as the Courts or Probation Services) for which there are established procedures for sharing that information with police, or
- incidents that were originally detected by police, often through enforcement initiatives.
Therefore, variables such as the public’s willingness to report to police, the existence of information sharing procedures between agencies, police enforcement strategies and recording practices can have substantial effects on crime statistics.
**Census Metropolitan Area, or CMA – A CMA refers to an urban core and its surrounding area (based on commuting patterns) with a total population of 100,000 or more and at least 50,000 people residing within the urban core itself.
Some CMAs have populations that reside primarily within the urban core while other CMAs have populations that are more dispersed among a number of surrounding communities. CMAs typically cover more than one police jurisdiction. The Regina CMA is policed by the Regina Police Service (RPS) within the city limits and by two RCMP detachments for the largely rural surrounding area.
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.
