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According to Statistics Canada, crime rates in Canada had been on a steady decline for 11 years.
That is, until 2015, when it increased for the first time since 2003 by 5%. Crime rates rose again in 2016 by another 1%. (This is measured by not only the number of reported crimes, but also takes into account the severity of those crimes with the Crime Severity Index (CSI).)
Crime rates were actually 29% higher in 2006. Overall, we are making progress, but anyone who turns on a television now and then or frequents the internet knows that we still have some work to do. Luckily, community organizations like Central Okanagan Crime Stoppers work hard to help police solve these crimes and accept anonymous tips to assist them in doing so.
But what role does Kelowna play in all of this, and how do we compare to other cities across Canada? Some citizens view Kelowna as a relatively safe place to live; a growing city that hasn’t completely lost its small-town vibe. Others might worry about the fact that Kelowna has been considered a major crime capital in the past, like in 2012 when it had the highest reported crime rate in all of Canada.
In 2016, Kelowna still ranks high as a census metropolitan area with one of the highest overall crime rates in the country.
As shown in the above chart, Kelowna’s 2016 crime rate falls around 100, while Canada’s average is 71.0. That puts us roughly 40% higher than the country’s average, only coming in below Saskatoon, Regina, Winnipeg and Edmonton. Our neighbouring cities of Vancouver and Abbotsford-Mission aren’t too far behind with crime rates of 94.3 and 91.4, respectively.
Calgary sits closer to the national average, and the big city of Toronto may actually be one of Canada’s safest cities with a crime rate of 47.5.
Surprised? Let’s take a deeper look into the crimes in which Kelowna ranks the highest to see what is really influencing this statistic (spoiler alert: if you guessed drugs, you’re right).
According to a tool that compares the number of crimes per 100,000 people in the 100 largest CMA’s in Canada, created by Maclean’s using data from Statistics Canada, Kelowna ranked in the top 10 for several different types of crimes in 2016.
Kelowna ranked first in:
Heroin possession, with 77.57 incidents of heroin possession per 100,000 people versus the national average of 4.47
Ecstasy possession, with 20.94 incidents of ecstasy possession per 100,000 people versus the national average of 1.16
Kelowna ranked third in:
Cannabis possession
Cocaine possession
Total drug violations
Voyeurism
Kelowna ranked fourth in:
Fraud
Crystal meth possession
Kelowna ranked fifth in:
Impaired driving
Kelowna ranked sixth in:
Child pornography
Our city doesn’t make the list when it comes to crimes like homicide, identity theft, robbery or assault, but we aren’t looking good when it comes to illicit substances, and a few other areas.
This is one of the reasons why it's so important to help by reporting crimes you’ve witnessed, which assists in solving crimes and likely preventing more that would have happened in the future as a result.
In the past 30 years, the Central Okanagan Crime Stoppers Program has received 25,100 tips through their toll free number and website. This resulted in 2,700 arrests, 650 charges and 3,680 resolved cases.
They have also recovered 41 weapons and $4,276,729 worth of stolen property, and seized $88,462,052 worth of illegal drugs.
There is no doubt that reporting crimes benefits our community, and Crime Stoppers is offering an extra incentive to encourage people to call in with tips. Tips that help resolve crimes in the Central Okanagan are eligible for rewards of up to $2,000. You can remain completely anonymous, so if you know something - say something.
To safely and anonymously report knowledge of criminal activity, call 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or use the secure online webtip submission form. Learn more about submitting a tip here.
The Central Okangan Crime Stoppers Society has been empowering the community to fight back against crime for over three decades. Locally-based out of Kelowna, Crime Stoppers now operates in over 20 countries and is recognized as the number one community based crime solving organization in the world.
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