Regina Area Police-Reported Crime Declines in 2022

This morning, Thursday, July 27, 2023, the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics released its annual comparison of police-reported crime statistics for 2022. This report compares police-reported crime across Canada’s 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).

Overall, the Regina CMA saw year-over-year declines in many crime categories and rankings in 2022.

CRIME RATE

The Regina CMA Total Crime Rate for 2022 declined slightly (-0.2%), over that of 2021 to 7,543 reported crimes per 100,000 population. This is the 7th highest crime rate of the 35 CMAs.

The Violent Crime Rate showed an -8% decline, and an 18th place ranking among CMAs. The Property Crime Rate increased 6% over 2021, ranking 7th among all CMAs. The percentage change over a ten year period (2012-2022) for the Property Crime Rate showed a 9% decline; both Violent Crime and Total Crime showed decreases ( -13% and -15%, respectively) for the ten-year period of 2012-2022.

 

Regina CMA Crime Rate, 2022
	2022	CMA Rank	% change 2021-2022	% change 2012-2022
Total Crime Rate	7,543	7	-0.2%	-15%
Violent Crime Rate	1,194	18	-8%	-13%
Property Crime Rate	4,591	7	6%	-9%

 

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.

 

CRIME SEVERITY INDEX (CSI)

 

In the Regina CMA, in 2022, the Total Crime Severity Index declined 5%, over that of 2021. The Regina CMA ranked 5th among CMAs in Total Crime Severity. The Violent Crime Severity Index showed a -16% decrease from 2021 to 2022: ranking 5th among CMAs. The Non-violent Crime Severity Index showed a slight increase (1%) in comparison to 2021, ranking 6th among all CMAs. From 2012 to 2022, the Total and Non-violent Crime Severity Indices showed a decline, whereas the Violent Crime Severity Index saw an increase of 9%. Despite these changes, the overall crime rates have remained relatively stable over the ten-year period.

 

Regina CMA Crime Severity Index, 2022
	2022	CMA Rank	% change 2021-2022	% change 2012-2022
Total Crime Severity Index	107	5	-5%	-9%
Violent Crime Severity Index	121	5	-16%	9%
Non-violent Crime Severity Index	102	6	1%	-14%

 

Definition: The “Crime Severity Index” 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.

 

More definitions:

What is police-reported crime?

CCJS utilizes police-reported crime for its report and 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.

 

What is a Census Metropolitan Area?

 

  Regina Census Metropolitan Area (within blue boundary)

 

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 (outlined in blue) is policed by the Regina Police Service within the city limits, and by two RCMP detachments: White Butte and Lumsden for the largely rural area surrounding the City of Regina. The Regina CMA includes the communities of White City, Pilot Butte, Balgonie, Lumsden, Regina Beach, Pense, and Belle Plaine.