Note: This story has been updated to reflect the correction of an error in the StatCan data that showed Yorkton ranked 30th in CSI. They city actually ranks 25th.
There is not a lot of good news for Yorkton or Saskatchewan in the latest crime numbers released by Statistics Canada yesterday.
In 2015, Yorkton’s crime severity index (CSI) was 131.46, up 16.76 per cent over 2014. That breaks a four-year downward trend that saw decreases of 5.26, 14.88, 11.59 and 17.41 per cent. However, the 2015 CSI of 131.46, while up 18.87 points over 2014, is still better than it was in 2013 (136.33), 2012 (154.20) and 2011 (181.15).
Compared to 305 other jurisdictions with populations greater than 10,000, Yorkton ranked 25th nationally, up nine places from 2014, but still better than 2013 (20th), 2012 (ninth) and 2011 (seventh).
Yorkton also took a significant jump in violent crime severity ranking from 58th in 2014 to 21st last year. On the positive side, the city was 30th in non-violent crime severity in 2015 compared to 28th in 2014.
Nationally, 2015 marks the first time since 2003 the CSI increased. The national increase of five per cent is far shy of Yorkton’s jump and the number itself is still nearly double the national average, which came in at 69.7.
The index was also up 10 per cent provincially and Saskatchewan continues to lead the other provinces at 135.8.
According to StatCan, the national increase was driven by a jump in fraud, breaking and entering, robbery and homicide, particularly in Alberta, but also Saskatchewan. That is consistent with economic woes experienced the prairies of late, although a direct causal link cannot be definitively made.
Of Canada’s 33 Census Metropolitan Areas (or CMAs, cities with more than 100,000 population) Calgary logged the greatest increase in CSI at 29 per cent. However, Alberta’s capital, with a CSI of 78.3, still lags way behind Saskatchewan’s two largest cities. Saskatoon, in fact, ranked last year as Canada’s most dangerous CMA with an index of 112.5. Regina (107.6) was number two.
The country’s small cities continue to outrank their larger counterparts. While first among CMAs, Saskatoon is only 35th overall with North Battleford remaining Canada’s crime capital for the seventh year in a row and most violent city again in 2015 after dropping into second place behind William’s Lake, BC in 2014.
For complete coverage and analysis of the crime 2015 crime data, please see the July 27 print edition of Yorkton This Week.
