The Town of Smithers saw a sharp jump in its violent crime severity index (VCSI) last year of almost 30 per cent.
Data released by Statistics Canada (StatCan) July 27 indicate the VCSI was 238.51 in 2022 compared to 185.65 in 2021, an increase of 28.5 per cent.
It also represents a large jump in the town’s ranking from a year ago when Smithers was 30th in violent crime out of the roughly 180 B.C. police jurisdictions for which data is available. This year that ranking is up to 16th.
To calculate indices, each type of crime is given a weight based on the severity of the crime (i.e., murder counts much higher than common assault). The number of police-reported incidents for each offence is multiplied by the weight for that offence then all weighted offences are then added together and divided by the population of the jurisdiction.
Smithers was also significantly higher in its overall crime severity index (CSI) and non-violent crime severity index (NVCSI) in 2022.
Smithers now ranks 13th in CSI, up from 23rd the previous year with 198.78 compared to 163.98 in 2021, a 21.2 per cent increase
Similarly, the NVCSI increased to 178.79 from 156.70 with a corresponding elevation of rank to 17th compared to 22nd last year.
New Hazelton ranked 18th with a CSI of 173.76 and Smithers rural — which includes Telkwa and Witset — ranked 92nd at 79.38.
Smaller municipalities have always been skeptical of the meaningfulness of the crime severity indices noting that a single murder, for example, or a particularly troublesome hospital patient, can skew the numbers dramatically for a town of only 5,300 people and in any given year might not necessarily reflect the overall safety of the community.
However, the reverse can also be true. For Smithers the increase this year, brings the town back in line with both the 2020 numbers and the five-year trend of increasing severity indices suggesting 2021 may have been the outlier.
StatCan acknowledges that taken discreetly, the numbers can be misleading, but nevertheless maintains they are useful in tracking crime trends and the relative safety of communities.
“The Crime Severity Index is also a tool for measuring the increase or decrease in the severity of crime over time in any given jurisdiction, such as provinces and territories, and for comparing the seriousness of crime among jurisdictions,” an article on the StatCan website states.
“Over time, police-reported crime rates have generally been higher in the west and north than in eastern and central regions of the country. This is also true for crime severity, as measured by the new Crime Severity Index.”
Reflecting the urban-rural, east-west and south-north divides, Smithers continues to trend significantly above provincial and national averages.
Comparing Smithers to national and provincial data for the period 2018-2022, the town’s five-year average CSI of 172.21 is well over double the Canadian average of 78.1 and more nearly double B.C.’s average of 100.4.
The Smithers average is also very significantly higher than Winnipeg Manitoba’s 2022 CSI of 136.6. Winnipeg displaced Lethbridge, Alta. in 2022 as the number 1-ranked census metropolitan area (CMA, or cities with more than 100,000 population.
Fort St. James (rural) ranked number one among B.C. municipalities again in 2022 with a CSI of 320.87, slightly down from the year before.
Fort St. James also took top spot for NVCSI at 281.49.
Lisims/Nass Valley (rural) claimed the highest VCSI in the province at 455.34.
B.C.’s big cities, Kelowna, Vancouver, Abbotsford-Mission and Victoria ranked second, 9th, 10th and 18th respectively among Canada’s 39 CMAs.
The Top 5 CMAs in the country were: Winnipeg, Man.; Kelowna, B.C.; Lethbridge, Alta.; Saskatoon, Sask.; and Regina, Sask.
Nearly 40 per cent of police-reported crimes in Canada are theft under $5,000 and mischief. The calculation of the severity indices gives lesser weight to these types of crimes and more to violent and serious crimes.
NORTHWEST MUNICIPALITIES RANKED
(Overall CSI)
1. Fort St. James
4. Williams Lake
13. Smithers
16. Prince Rupert
23. Houston
26. Terrace
27. New Hazelton
49. Kitimat
56. Burns Lake
77. Vanderhoof
editor@interior-news.com
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