Photo courtesy Google maps.
Maclean’s Magazine is out with its list of most dangerous places to live in Canada and one Vancouver Island city makes an appearance in a new category’s top-10 list.
In Maclean’s Crime Severity Index (CSI) report based on 2017 police figures, Courtenay has the seventh-highest five-year increase in crime.
The CSI score for Courtenay is 119, a climb of more than 38.6 points from the 80.25 score in 2012 for the community of 25,525 people.
The CSI is measured by Statistics Canada that looks at the seriousness and number of crimes in urban centres.
In 2017, there was one homicide in Courtenay, along with 142 cases of assault, 12 sexual assaults and three firearms offences.
Other crimes that are included in the CSI include theft and property crime, drug offences and crime by youth.
According to the Maclean’s report, the community of Wetaskiwin, AB, has had the biggest CSI climb over five years, going from 156.91 in 2012 to 258.
On the other side, Victoria and Esquimalt’s five year CSI comparison showed a drop of 11.72 points, recording a CSI score of 114 in 2017 data.
The CSI in the capital region was just shy of 126 in 2012.
A baseline of 100 was set by Stats Canada for the national index, with a score under 100 meaning fewer and/or less severe crimes than those committed that year.
Places where the CSI was over 100 means more and/or more severe crime was committed than in 2006.
Overall crime is down in the country compared to five years ago, dropping 2.56 points from the 2012 mark to 72.87.
But the year-to-year index rose for the third straight time after going 11 years with a decline.
PORT ALBERNI RANKED 22ND MOST DANGEROUS CITY IN CANADA, HIGHEST ON VANCOUVER ISLAND
In Maclean’s list of most dangerous cities in Canada, Port Alberni comes in as the highest ranked on Vancouver Island.
The city went down from 19th spot overall to 22nd, but Port Alberni’s CSI went up two points from last year to 139.
However, violent crimes were down with no homicides in 2017, fewer assaults, sexual offences and firearm crimes.
There were 157 assaults in Port Alberni last year for an assault rate of 865.25 per 100,000 people, well above the national average rate of 430.68.
Fraud and controlled drug trafficking and production crimes climbed, but robberies, impaired driving and trafficking of cannabis and cocaine all came down in Port Alberni.
Courtenay is next on the list from Vancouver Island at 31st, moving up 14 spots from last year.
and Victoria and Esquimalt is ranked 36th, a drop from 30th the year before.
The only other Island city in the top-50 is Nanaimo with a CSI of 103 and ranked 49th overall.
Nanaimo saw its overall crime figures come down from a CSI reading of 112 in 2016 and its ranking fell from 37th overall.
The Candian CSI average is 70.96.
For the second year in a row, North Battleford, SK, has the dubious title of most dangerous city in Canada, with a CSI score of 372, up from last year’s reading of 353.
North Battleford has a population of 14,387 people.
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