By paNOW Staff

P.A. crime rate nearly double Regina, Saskatoon

Jul 25, 2017 | 12:35 PM

Prince Albert’s per-capita crime rate was nearly as high in 2016 as Regina and Saskatoon combined, according to data published this week by Statistics Canada.

According to the national data-collection agency, Prince Albert’s saw 7,815 criminal incidents in 2016, representing an increase of 9.75 per cent over 2015. The Gateway to the North experienced 20,961 crimes per 100,000 people, a significantly higher rate than Saskatoon (10,499), Regina (10,545) or the provincial average of 13,305.

While P.A. crime was certainly on the rise in 2016, that trend was reflected across the entire province. Saskatchewan’s overall crime rate increased by 4.03 per cent last year; Saskatoon saw crime rise 6.97 per cent, while Regina’s rate increased even more than Prince Albert’s, jumping by 9.81 per cent.

Statistics Canada measures crime nationally using their Crime Severity Index (CSI), which takes into account both the volume and relative seriousness of criminal offences. Canada’s CSI increased by a single point last year, Statistics Canada reported, while Saskatchewan’s CSI increased by nine points – the highest of any province. Manitoba and Newfoundland and Labrador trailed close behind with respective CSI increases of eight and six points, while the greatest CSI reduction was seen in the Northwest Territories where the CSI dropped by nine per cent.

Saskatoon and Regina had the two highest severity indices of any census metropolitan area in the nation, dubious titles which the cities have held since 2010.

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The largest drivers of Saskatchewan’s CSI increase were frauds, break-and-enter offences and homicides, Statistics Canada reported. The province saw 54 murders in 2016, compared to 44 in 2015 and just 24 in the previous year.

Prince Albert Police Chief Troy Cooper told paNOW the city’s disproportionate crime rate is largely a result of the city’s transient and youth populations, and issues such as poor education which plague the province’s North.

“The CSI is based on population, so of course Prince Albert’s population is very fluid. All of our victims and all of our offenders are not from Prince Albert,” Cooper said. “We’ve got a really young population base here, and that impacts crime because young people are more likely to be victimised and they’re more likely to be offenders.”

Cooper said Prince Albert police were already well aware of the high regional crime statistics prior to their publication by Statistics Canada, as the police service collects and analyzes data constantly throughout the year. Police have already begun reacting to the trends outlined in the recent publication, he said, and have increased their levels of drug enforcement and formed a break-and-enter task force to address the city’s drug and property crime rates.

“We’re not just chasing reported crime,” he said. “We’re actually trying to be preventative; we’re trying to look for root causes of this crime.”

According to a statement released by the RCMP’s Saskatchewan-based “F” Division in response to the Statistics Canada report, the provincial CSI increase was largely due to Saskatchewan’s climbing murder rate.

“The nine per cent increase in the Crime Severity Index noted in the Stats Can report, was primarily driven by an increase in the number of homicides in the Division,” the national police force said in a statement. “Otherwise, the level of violent crime remained essentially unchanged.”

The RCMP said property crime rates are falling in Saskatchewan and have been for the past 10 months despite what the numbers indicate. Although Statistics Canada reported a provincial property crime increase of two per cent in 2016, the RCMP statement indicates this was caused by “a surge in property crime in the first half of that year.”

taylor.macpherson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @TMacPhersonNews