Saskatchewan tops StatsCan crime severity list for 25th year in a row

A new Statistics Canada report shows Saskatchewan has again led the country on the national crime severity index.

The province has now been first on that list every year since the federal agency started reporting the dataset in 1998. 

Saskatoon and Regina sit at places 8 and 9 respectively on a list of 41 surveyed metropolitan areas in terms of crime severity. The cities are above the national average — and have been for the last 25 years.

CSI measures the number of crimes reported by police per 100,000 people combined with a weighted scale of how severe the crimes were. 

Regina Police Service Deputy Chief Trent Stevely said the service is "pleased" with the city's ranking and the progress it's made.

"Both our crime rate and crime severity index remain higher than the national average, but not the highest in the country, as had once been the case for Regina," he said. "We'd certainly like to be lower, but just slightly above national average is a good step forward."

The dataset, compiled and released by Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, categorizes places by census metropolitan areas (CMA). Regina's CMA includes the communities of Regina, White City, Pilot Butte, Balgonie, Lumsden, Regina Beach, Pense, and Belle Plaine. 

Regina's CMA reported 7,988 crimes per 100,000 people last year, an increase of 445 crimes per 100,000 over 2022. Regina's CSI increased by a little less than one per cent over the same period, according to the report. 

The crime severity index is measured differently from the overall crime rate. Statistics Canada says the index is measured by assigning weight based on the crimes' seriousness. For instance, the agency says, one murder has about 280 times the impact of one property theft. 

Stevely said the "slight rise" in both CSI and crime rate, reminds police that they'll have to continually reassess enforcement strategies and work with community partners to reduce crime. 

The RPS is looking at areas that could be managed better, Stevely said. 

"In Saskatchewan, we have the highest intimate partner violence rate, so we're always assessing the growth in those specialized units that deal with domestic conflict," he said.

While the non-violent crime severity index dropped by five per cent from 2022 to 2023, violent crime severity index for Regina increased by 13 per cent. 

Stevely said the police will have a better idea on what accounts for the increase in crimes from its board of police commissioners report expected next month. Anecdotally, he said, the increase could possibly be attributed to arson, traffic stops, or possessing firearms. 

Nationally, contributors to the uptick in violent crime included: a 35 per cent increase in reports of extortion, a seven per cent rise in assault with a weapon or assault causing bodily harm, and a four per cent spike in robbery, the report said. 

Non-violent national contributors on the other hand, increased due to a 52 per cent increase in child pornography reports, an 18 per cent hike in shoplifting reports, and a 12 per cent rise in fraud reports.

Across the country, the number of police-reported hate crimes was up 32 percent last year — and those targeting race accounted for a little less than half of that.

The RPS said it had no reports of hate crime in 2023.