Canada's crime index rises for 1st time in 12 years, lifted by spike in Alberta

[taco.vidal]

Canada's crime index rises for 1st time in 12 years, lifted by spike in Alberta
StatsCan says 8 out of 13 provinces and territories reported an increase in the CSI
By John Gibson, CBC News Posted: Jul 20, 2016 10:21 AM MT Last Updated: Jul 20, 2016 3:29 PM MT

A "notable" uptick in police-reported crime in Alberta contributed to the first increase in the national rate in 12 years, Statistics Canada says.

The national Crime Severity Index (CSI), which measures the volume and severity of police-reported crime, jumped five per cent from 2014 to 2015, the federal agency said Wednesday.

An 18 per cent increase in Alberta, combined with smaller increases in British Columbia, Ontario and Saskatchewan, contributed to push the CSI up.

In all, eight out of 13 provinces and territories reported an increase in the CSI by the end of last year.

Twenty of Canada's 33 census metropolitan areas reported increased CSI rates. A 29-per cent surge in Calgary was the biggest, followed by a 20 per cent increase in Moncton, a 16 per cent increase in Victoria, a 16 per cent increase in Edmonton and a 14 per cent increase in Abbotsford-Mission.

Traditional crime rates were also up in those cities, by 25 per cent in Calgary, 21 per cent in Moncton and in the Abbotsford–Mission area in B.C. by 15 per cent.

The two cities with the highest CSIs in 2015 were Saskatoon, at 112.5, and Regina, at 107.6.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgar...lice-1.3686871

[Drak]

Thanks Obama.

[TheScorpion]

A 29-per cent surge in Calgary was the biggest

Well, that's unsettling.

[Iowa_Flames_Fan]

Originally Posted by Drak

Thanks Obama.

You joke, but I guarantee that someone, somewhere, is blaming Notley for this....

In all seriousness that is worrisome, and likely reflects our current economic times.

[Thor]

I thought we had long established economic downturns, unemployment means increased crime.

[Looch City]

Originally Posted by Thor

I thought we had long established economic downturns, unemployment means increased crime.

Yes but now we can blame the leftists and Liberals.

[Weitz]

I had some greaseball prowling in our parkade this evening.

Our first level of the parkade is a CPA lot and visitor parking. Then a big garage door and gate thing. When I opened it and went in this guy followed me so I got out and asked him what's up and he had no explanation. Pulled out my phone and pretended to call 911 and he ran off. I followed to make sure he left the secure area thankfully.

[doctajones428]

Thanks Trudeau.

[calgaryblood]

Thanks Pokemon Go.

[Jets4Life]

For once, Winnipeg isn't the crime/murder capital of Canada.

[Finger Cookin]

Saskatchewan is no good.

[Street Pharmacist]

My store just got burglarized tonight. Spent the last 3 hours cleaning up glass. Idiot broke the window, ran to the pharmacy ended up taking a bag of expired vitamins someone brought us for disposal. Narcotics are always locked in a safe, so he got away with expired vitamins and I lost 5 hours of sleep and the money to get the window fixed.

Grrrrrrrrrrr

[Cycling76er]

Originally Posted by Jets4Life

For once, Winnipeg isn't the crime/murder capital of Canada.

Maybe not the crime capital but I'm sure we're still the murder capital. When I first moved here I heard that Winnipeg has the most gang members per capita and most policeman per capita in Canada.

I felt safe for the 18 years I lived in downtown Calgary. I don't feel safe in most places in Winnipeg. 2 years here and I still haven't adjusted.

[Table 5]

I too have been stung by this crime surge.

Just a couple of weeks ago, some lowlife broke into our car and stole the Aux cable. So on a recent family trip to the mountains, instead of listening to some nice music or a sweet podcast, we were all forced to talk to each other for entertainment.

[Erick Estrada]

Interesting how crime has been low in the Maritimes given it hasn't exactly been a place of job prosperity.

[mrkajz44]

I was listening on 660 news about this. Someone from the police was saying this spike is more directly related to addiction than anything. Yes, there was an impact from unemployment that might drive up rates, but most theft type crimes were being driven from people desperate for their next fix.

Just saying "hey, its tough economic times" might be a little bit of an oversimplification here.

[CroFlames]

Originally Posted by Drak

Thanks Obama.

I literally came into this thread to say this, and it's the 2nd friggen post. Well played.

I'll post this though

Spoiler!

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Interesting how crime has been low in the Maritimes given it hasn't exactly been a place of job prosperity.

Yeah, I think demographics are more influential than the job climate. The Maritimes are full of old people and people with deep roots in their communities. Calgary has a very young population, with large numbers of young men not rooted in the community or domestic life.

[MelBridgeman]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Interesting how crime has been low in the Maritimes given it hasn't exactly been a place of job prosperity.

They commit crimes in other provinces

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Interesting how crime has been low in the Maritimes given it hasn't exactly been a place of job prosperity.

They are all equally broke so theres nothing to steal from each other so they do it all over the rest of Canada.

Seriously though, this was more than expected. No location can withstand the amount of job losses and unemployment that we've seen here without repercussion.

And for anyone wondering why Calgary has been hit so much worse than Edmonton it comes down to the fact that Edmonton's Public/Private sector mixture is much more heavily weighted to Public sector than Calgary's.

No Civil Servants have been laid off due to budgetary constraints.