Rise in crime statistics linked to drug crisis, say police
POLICE URGE TO KEEP MAGAZINE’S CRIME RANKINGS IN PERSPECTIVE
The Lethbridge Police Service is urging residents to keep the recently released Maclean’s report — which ranks Lethbridge as 19 out of the 20 most dangerous places in Canada to live based on crime rate — in perspective.
While the report indicates a 53-percent rise in crime in Lethbridge since the last Maclean’s report in 2012, LPS Sgt. Bruce Hagel said most of that increase is accounted for and conjoined with the drug crisis.
“Lethbridge, like a lot of communities on that list — and I think there are six or seven communities in Alberta on that list — this has been an unprecedented series of events over the last number of years with this opioid crisis,” Hagel told reporters on Tuesday. “Along with that increase in drug use, you see increases in property crimes, vehicle break-ins, house break-ins, garage break-ins, to feed those drug habits.”
According to the Maclean’s study, Lethbridge actually ranks below the country average in homicides and is not far above, or at par with, the country average in most other categories of crime measured, with the exception of assaults (782.34 incidents per population of 100,000, nearly double the Canadian average at 430.68) and breaking and entering (801.42 incidents per 100,000 population, again nearly double the Canadian average at 438.51).
Hagel said most of the break-andenter numbers can be attributed to the drug crisis. The assault numbers are a little harder to account for, but tend to take place within a select group of individuals in the city.
“Most of the violent crime we see here in Lethbridge is within the community on the fringe, with addictions and things like that,” Hagel said. “The instances of random, violent attacks, while they do happen, is quite low in Lethbridge.”
Lethbridge is also high above the country average for incidents of fraud (974.22 incidents per 100,000, three times the country average at 299.05).
Hagel admitted the LPS does not have a good understanding of why the fraud numbers are so high in Lethbridge, but said these three statistical areas tended to skew the rankings for Lethbridge in the Maclean’s study, and are not reflective of most residents’ experiences of city life.
“I think Lethbridge is a great place to live,” said Hagel. “I think Lethbridge is a great place to raise a family.”
But that does not mean the LPS is turning a blind eye to the problems we have in the community, said Hagel.
“We have recognized the need to be more active in some of those areas, putting more boots on the street,” said Hagel, “and even getting
the community involved with Neighbourhood Watch-type of programs, community peace officers and things like that where we will have more exposure. And hopefully that (greater) exposure will reduce those numbers.”