Estevan’s ranking on the national crime severity index (CSI) rose in 2014, thanks in part to an alleged homicide and several other serious crimes.
The CSI is based on the amount of crime in a community and the severity of the crime. More severe crimes, such as homicides, are given a higher weight than lesser crimes.
The ranking, released on July 22 by Statistics Canada, showed Estevan’s CSI rating was 113.38, which was No. 32 among 303 communities with at least 10,000 people.
Last year the Energy City was at 102.89, which left them No. 43 on the list.
“This isn’t just crime rates, this is crime severity,” Estevan police Chief Paul Ladouceur told the Mercury. “So how severe is the crime, and what type of crimes are we talking about? It’s very different than just basic stats – how many calls for service we receive and how many crimes are committed in Estevan?”
Two other categories were calculated. Estevan was No. 15 on the violent crime severity index with a 140.1 score; last year the city was No. 60 at 80.5. And on the non-violent crime severity index, Estevan was No. 43 with a 103.42 figure, compared to last year’s number of 110.83, which left Estevan with an overall ranking of 38.
“There are so many factors that influence the statistics when it comes to the crime severity index,” said Ladouceur. “One of the things that, as we go through the years I look at, is what’s happening on a daily basis, a weekly basis and a monthly basis.”
Some crimes carry more weight than others, Ladouceur said. So the homicide in April of last year – the first in Estevan since January of 2008 – had a big impact on Estevan’s score.
There were also break-and-enters, a kidnapping and an armed robbery that contributed to Estevan’s higher rating on the CSI scale.
“Those things, although they’re not happening daily, certainly had a huge impact on the crime severity index,” said Ladouceur.
Many of the crimes that occurred in Estevan last year were among parties known to each other, and were often drug-related. These are concerning for the chief, because they can lead to harm to the parties involved and to innocent bystanders.
Ladouceur said he would like to see Estevan in a better position, but he cautioned that people have to be careful when looking at statistics.
“In this province, police services do an exceptionally good job of capturing statistics, which sometimes doesn’t necessarily position you better, because you’re doing an excellent job of recording what you need to be recording to get accurate results,” said Ladouceur.
For example, if there’s an increase in drug enforcement in the community, and more people are arrested for drug-related crime, a community’s CSI rate will change.
“If I send four officers out on the street every night because I want to have a big crackdown for the next four months on impaired driving, do you think impaired driving charges in Estevan are going to go up or down?” he asked. “Well, statistically it’s going to go up.”
But Ladouceur said he will be scrutinizing the numbers from Statistics Canada in the coming weeks. The findings aren’t something the EPS will take lightly. And they will be incorporated into the EPS goals for next year.
The chief believes Estevan has attributes that make it unique among Canadian centres for its size, and they contribute to the CSI score. The transient nature of the oil industry brings a lot of people to the community on a short-term basis. It’s also a city with a high per capita income.
Partnerships will be critical to reducing Estevan’s CSI ranking. The EPS needs to be a strongpartner with the community. Ladouceur believes they’re starting to see the benefits.
“The more we can increase the public’s comfort level to contact their local police, and say ‘This is going on in my neighbourhood, or I’ve got a concern within the city,’ and have that confidence and trust (it’s a step forward),” said Ladouceur. “Whether it’s a concern they don’t want their name being brought out from fear, or they don’t want their neighbour knowing they’re phoning, that’s an issue of trust.
“It takes time to build trust with a police service and the community. The more gains we can make in that area, certainly it’s going to benefit all of us.”
Partnerships can be with agencies such as Sun Country Health Region Addiction Services, Southeast Regional Victim Services and schools.
“I’m a big supporter of education as it relates to prevention, and that’s something we’re certainly moving towards, even in a stronger fashion as we move into 2016,” he said.
Education is much more affordable than victimization, he said, so the more they educate the public on prevention – through drug programs, home security, fraud prevention and more – the better-suited the community will be moving forward.
“If we can really get a handle on drugs and drug addictions, and drug trafficking in this community, certainly we’re going to be making headway,” said Ladouceur.
Stats Canada has released the CSI ranking every year since 2009. Weights used in the CSI range from six for gaming and betting infractions to over 7,000 points for murder.
Break-ins account for nearly one-quarter (24 per cent) of the CSI, compared with about nine per cent of reported crimes. On the other hand, mischief accounts for about five per cent of the index, instead of 15 per cent of the crime rate.
Estevan ranked fourth among Saskatchewan cities with at least 10,000 people. North Battleford led the country with a CSI ranking of 274.53. Prince Albert (206.38) and Saskatoon (119) were also ahead of Estevan.
