Large disparity between rural, urban and northern, southern crime: StatsCan

The national average was 6,210 criminal code offences per 100,000 people in rural areas, 23 per cent higher than the rate reported by urban police services at just 5,051.

Behind Saskatchewan is Manitoba with 11,309 incidents per 100,000 citizens in rural parts of the province and 7,964 per 100,000 in urban areas. Running third is Alberta with 10,964 crimes in rural areas and 7,920 in urban locations.

In addition to the inflated crime rate, the Crime Severity Index (CSI) – which measures the severity of a crime – is also higher at 82.1 in rural areas compared to 70.1 in urban settings.

The agency reported that just 16 per cent of the population inhabits rural areas, but 23 per cent of police-reported violent crimes occurred there.

Contributing to the disparity is high crime rates on the prairies and in the Provincial North, which is defined as the northern regions of provinces outside the Maritimes.

Saskatchewan’s northern rural crime rate was reported as 59,574 incidents per 100,000 citizens, compared to just 9,053 in southern rural segments.

The crime rate for rural northern parts of provinces across Canada was 14,512 violations per 100,000 people, three-times higher than in the south at just 4,706.

Despite the high numbers, both rural and urban crime is down over the last decade. Since 2009, crime is down 13 per cent and the CSI has dropped by 7 per cent. The decline is greater is urban regions, with the CSI and crime rate down 19 per cent.

Statistics Canada published a report this week outlining police-reported crime rates for rural, urban , northern and southern sections of provinces across Canada. (Statistics Canada)

Driving crime in rural areas is mischief, which can include minor vandalism to destructive or reckless behaviour. This accounted for 20 per cent of rural incidents compared to just 11 in urban areas.

In addition, property crimes like break and enters, vehicle theft, theft over $5,000, and arson were higher in rural portions of provinces. In urban settings, theft of $5,000 or under was much higher, largely due to shoplifting and theft from vehicles, the report said.

Homicides are higher outside of urban areas, at 2.02 per 100,000 people rurally, and 1.55 in cities. Attempted murders, however, are higher in urban settings, at 2.1 per 100,000 citizens as opposed to 1.7.

Other violent crimes overrepresented in rural areas, according to the report, include sexual violations against children and violent firearm offences. On the other side of the coin, more robberies and offences for human trafficking or the commodification of sexual activity were reported in urban areas.

StatsCan reported that in 2017, impaired driving rates were twice as high in rural areas compared to urban. Rates of impaired driving causing death is seven times higher in rural areas than urban. Saskatchewan had the highest impaired driving rate in rural areas with 939 incidents per 100,000 people.

Policing a large area with few people can bring challenges for rural police services. Despite slower response times and higher crime rates, self-reported data from 2014 found rural or small town dwellers had similar levels of confidence in their local force as those in cities.

Forty-five per cent of Canadians said they have a “great deal” of confidence in their local police. This trend was only bucked in Alberta and New Brunswick, where those living in rural settings were less likely to report a great deal of confidence in law enforcement.

Though rural and urban Saskatchewanians reported similar levels of confidence in officers – 45 per cent – rural residents were less favourable on law enforcement’s ability to enforce the law, 48 to 57 per cent, and response times, 44 to 50.

The report said a “multitude of different rural realities” prove difficult in addressing rural crime.

“Some communities experience an economic or population decline, while others are faced with the effects of a rapid economic boom,” the report read. “Some communities are particularly remote, while others are relatively close to large population centres and have access to a broader range of services.”

Additionally, the report said Indigenous communities, which are generally in rural regions, “are also faced with significant socioeconomic and safety issues.”

The issue was a point of contention in the Saskatchewan Legislature during Question Period on Wednesday.

NDP MLA Nicole Sarauer, the opposition critic for corrections and policing, criticized the government’s crime strategy for focusing heavily on enforcement and lacking a multi-pronged approached to address the root causes of crime – poverty, homelessness, housing and substance abuse.

“We need to be doing everything we can to get the addictions crisis in our province under control,” she said. “When will we see the smart investments that could help prevent crime in the first place?”

Sarauer later said the province continues to bypass viable solutions and cut services.

“We also have a shameful shortage of mental health and addictions supports in our correctional facilities,” she added. “And when people leave our jails right now, they are sent back into their community with little additional re-integration supports, at serious risk of reoffending.”

Minister of Corrections and Policing Christine Tell responded by making note that the data is for 2017, a year after the province sent a rural crime committee across the province to canvass people on the issue.

Following, she said the government rolled out an array of initiatives like the crime reduction and protection and response teams, as well as money to train community safety officers.

“Our ministry is involved in more levels than just enforcement,” she said, pointing to the northern alcohol strategy, hub tables throughout the province and the northeast youth violence reduction partnership.

“We take crime in this province very, very seriously,” Tell added. “We will continue to ensure that our initiatives are based on evidence and looking for the outcomes.”

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tyler.marr@jbpg.ca

On Twitter: @JournoMarr

by Tyler Marr

Large disparity between rural, urban and northern, southern crime: StatsCan

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