In spite of a decrease in crime across the board in 2014, North Battleford remains at the top of the Crime Severity Index for cities over 10,000 population.
Statistics Canada released its 2014 police-reported crime statistics numbers Wednesday.
The Crime Severity Index score for the North Battleford RCMP municipal police service was 274.53, number one in Canada for cities over 10,000. The city also finished first among cities over 10,000 in the Nonviolent Crime Severity Index at 276.45.
But there was one piece of good news. The city didn’t finish first in the Violent Crime Severity Index again. North Battleford dropped to second overall in that index at 267.71. Williams Lake, B.C. was first with a score of 314.2.
The crime severity index measures both the volume and the severity of crime in a community.
North Battleford’s CSI score dropped 16.38 per cent. The violent crime severity number is down 13.39 per cent, and the nonviolent CSI down 17.38 per cent.
Despite the significant decline, the CSI score was still more than Williams Lake (235.23), Thompson, Man. (212.2) and Prince Albert (206.38).
In the nonviolent CSI category North Battleford was well ahead, with Yellowknife, N.W.T. second at 218.71.
The CSI ranking compared values for 303 police services policing communities over 10,000 population across Canada.
The community has been working to turn around its reputation as a haven for criminal activity. Efforts have included establishment of the HUB, the appointment of a community safety co-ordinator and the hiring of Community Safety Officers to provide enchanced bylaw enforcement, among others.
One explanation for North Battleford topping the CSI list again, in spite of its overall crime drop, was because the overall CSI has been dropping all over Canada. Statistics Canada calculated the CSI value for Canada at 66.7 in 2014, a year-over-year decline of three per cent.
As a whole, Saskatchewan scored poorly. It recorded the worst CSI score in Canada as a province, even though its CSI and its crime rates had declined. Its CSI was 123.4, a drop of two per cent.
Among metropolitan areas over 100,000 population, Saskatchewan’s major cities also scored poorly, with Saskatoon finishing first in Canada with a CSI score of 109.7. Regina finished in second place at 102.8.
