[elkhunter11]

https://globalnews.ca/news/4349313/a...me-stats-2017/

The severity of crime went up in Alberta in 2017, according to new data released by Statistics Canada Monday.

The province’s Crime Severity Index (CSI) rose in 2017, with a CSI of 110.1, or up 4.9 per cent.

The crime rate went up 3.6 per cent, or about 8,478 criminal incidents per 100,000 people. This continues an upward trend in severe crime since 2014.

The CSI is a measure of the volume and severity of crimes reported to the police, such as homicides and assaults.

“The CSI takes the crime rate and treats the more serious violations with more weight,” said Mary Allen, senior analyst with Statistics Canada.

The CSI differs from the crime rate, in that the crime rate measures the amount of crime reported to the police per 100,000 population. The data covers Canada’s census metropolitan areas, which are cities with a population of 100,000, with at least 50,000 living within the core.

Edmonton continues to deal with the highest severe crime in the province, with a CSI of about 112. This is an increase of five per cent from 2016.

https://calgarysun.com/news/crime/ri...problem-report

Alberta is not alone in its battle against the growing problem of rural crime, according to a report released by Statistics Canada.

Alberta has seen rural crime increase 38 per cent higher than urban crime in 2017, while Manitoba (42 per cent) and Saskatchewan (36 per cent) are plagued by the issue.

“Almost half of crime in Canada’s rural areas occurred in these three provinces, which accounted for about a quarter of Canada’s population served by rural police services,” the report stated.

The report cites high rates of property crime ravishing Alberta, something Trevor Tychkowsky, past-president of the Alberta Rural Crime Watch Association, is all too aware of.

“It’s been on the rise for quite some time now — too often people are talking about the crimes, but well after the fact,” he said of the rural crime that sees the association assist RCMP.

“Each local crime watch association is responsible to each detachment. We are trying to educate people so they are locking up their stuff, properly identifying stuff . . . putting out our signs, showing people any way we can to deter the crime.”

While the three provinces show the highest increase, nationwide numbers show a 30 per cent overall increase, with 6,581 incidents per 100,000 people occurring in rural areas versus 5,082 in urban areas.