Violent crime down 15 per cent in Kelowna

KELOWNA – Kelowna fell to fifth from fourth in the list of Canadian cities with the worst crime.

Statistics Canada recently released the Crime Severity Index, which measures the volume and severity of crime and weights more severe crimes by incarceration rate and average sentence length.

Kelowna’s crime severity index went 102 last year from 98 in 2015. Only Regina, Saskatoon, Edmonton and Winnipeg had worse rates, according to the most current data.

However, the violent crime index in Kelowna fell 15 per cent in the last year to 62, well below the national average of 75.

The report says the decline is due to fewer robberies last year compared with 2015.

Kelowna still has one of the highest crime rates in the country, a number that solely reflects the number of offences per capita.

The national average is 5,224 crimes per 100,000 citizens. In 2016 Kelowna reported 8,445 criminal code violations for the same number of citizens.

Twenty out of thirty Canadian cities reported increases in their indexes, with Winnipeg, Regina and Brantford up 13 per cent or more.

Regina and Saskatoon have the highest indexes at 125.8 and 117.8. Vancouver is six points behind Kelowna at 94.3 followed by Abbotsford–Mission at 91.4.

Québec, Barrie, Ont. and Toronto have the lowest indexes at 45.2, 45.4 and 47.5 respectively.

The overall volume and severity of violent crime across the country was unchanged at 75.3 for 2015 and 2016.

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