Alberta saw largest drop in crime severity in Canada in 2020, says StatCan report
Most provinces saw a drop in the crime severity index during the pandemic, with Alberta seeing one of the largest reductions in the country at 11 per cent, according to numbers released by Statistics Canada.
During the first year of the pandemic, the violent crime severity index dropped four per cent Canada-wide, while the non-violent crime severity index fell 10 per cent.
Calgary saw a 17 per cent drop in its crime severity index, which was the second largest in the country, behind Regina, Sask. (-20 per cent).
Ottawa (-16 per cent), Barrie, Ont. (-15 per cent), and Toronto (-15 per cent) round out the top five municipal drops.
Some cities saw their crime severity index go the other way. Peterborough, Ont., saw a 14 per cent increase, followed by Greater Sudbury, Ont. (7 per cent), Kingston, Ont. (four per cent), Victoria (three per cent) and Halifax, N.S. (two per cent).
The drop is largely the result of health restrictions forcing people to stay home more, said Deputy Chief Chad Tawfik with the Calgary Police Service.
"You certainly saw that across the country with the pandemic and related restrictions that were put in place," he said. "Most notably, we saw the biggest impacts over the first three months of 2020 ... driven by a decrease in property crimes, robberies and reported sexual assaults."
Looking at different types of offence, shoplifting under $5,000 (-36 per cent) and theft under $5,000 (-20 per cent) had the biggest reductions, along with robbery (-18 per cent), break and entering (-16 per cent) and sexual assault (-9 per cent).
The number of police-reported hate crimes increased 37 per cent to 2,669.
"Hate crimes targeting the Black population, East or Southeast Asian population, Indigenous population, and South Asian population accounted for most of the national change," read a release from StatCan.
There were 743 homicide victims in Canada in 2020, which was 56 more than in 2019.
Police do expect the crime severity inex to go back up now that restrictions are loosening, said Tawfik.
"We're anticipating a bit of a rebound in that regard, as far as activity, and that can be driven by a lot of factors, not just things opening up, but also economic conditions and other things. We are certainly watching that and tracking that."
CSI changes by province:
- Alberta (-11 per cent);
- Prince Edward Island (-11 per cent);
- Manitoba (-10 per cent);
- Ontario (-9 per cent);
- B.C. (-8 per cent);
- Quebec (-7 per cent);
- Saskatchewan (-6 per cent);
- Newfoundland and Labrador (-4 per cent);
- Nunavut (-1 per cent);
- Yukon (one per cent);
- New Brunswick (three per cent);
- Northwest Territories (six per cent), and;
- Nova Scotia (eight per cent).
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.