Kelowna crime bad, but it’s getting better

Magazine ranks city 39th of 237 communities in Canada; city’s crime severity index well above national average

While crime has decreased in Kelowna and Lake Country, it has risen in several other Okanagan communities, according to a report released this week by Maclean’s magazine.

Kelowna was ranked 39th of 237 communities in Canada, with a crime severity index of 112.

This was a drop of seven points from 2012 to 2017.

The national average crime severity index was 70.96.

Kelowna’s violent crime index also dropped to 71, which is below the national average of 75.25.

The Maclean’s report ranks communities according to the crime severity index, a Statistics Canada measure of all police-reported crimes.

The most dangerous city overall was identified as Wetaskiwin, Alta., which had a crime severity index of 258, an increase of 100 points from 2012 to 2017.

While Kelowna’s overall crime rate went down, its rates of homicides and firearms offences increased last year.

There were five homicides for a rate of 3.79 per 100,000 people, above the national average of 1.68.

The rate of firearms offences increased to 4.54 per 100,000 people, below the national average of 6.79.

The rate of assaults, sexual assaults and robberies went down, all below the national average.

“It is encouraging to see Kelowna’s ranking trending downward according to Maclean’s magazine,” said Cpl. Jesse O’Donaghey with the Kelowna RCMP. “The City of Kelowna and Kelowna RCMP will continue to work together to take a proactive and analytical approach to crime prevention and targeting high-risk and repeat offenders.”

Crime also declined in Lake Country, which had a crime severity index of 50, putting it at 157th in the country. This was a decrease of 20.6 points from 2012 to 2017.

Lake Country’s violent crime index was also down, to 27.

The rates of assault, firearms offences and robberies were down last year, while the rate of sexual assaults increased.

West Kelowna’s crime severity index was listed as 67, putting it at No. 111. This was an increase of 3.5 points from 2012 to 2017. Its violent crime index also went up, to 48. West Kelowna’s rates of homicides and firearms offences went up last year, while its rates of assaults, sexual assaults and robberies went down.

There was one homicide in West Kelowna last year, putting its rate at 2.9 per 100,000 people.

The rate of firearms offences in West Kelowna was above the national average, but assaults, sexual assaults and robberies were all below the national average.

Vernon’s crime severity index was 134, putting it at No. 24.

This was an increase of 3.29 points from 2012 to 2017.

Vernon’s violent crime index also went up, to 119.

A number of factors can contribute positively or negatively to crime reports, including prolific offenders, serious offences and targeted enforcement by police, said Const. Kelly Brett with the Vernon RCMP.

“Vernon is also a smaller city, and population size is a factor when determining rankings,” she said. “A single crime — either violent or non-violent — can have a more significant impact on crime severity rankings than it would in larger centres.”

In 2016, Vernon experienced a number of violent incidents, including three in which a firearm was discharged, said Brett.

The city also experienced a spike in property crime early in 2016, and targeted policing resulted in the arrest of a number of prolific offenders.

“Even one prolific offender can significantly impact the non-violent crime rating,” said Brett. “The Vernon RCMP remains committed to developing crime-reduction strategies that identify and target known prolific offenders, and we will continue to work with our partners and the community to reduce all types of crime in Vernon.”

Crime severity indexes also rose in Penticton (up 25.71 points from 2012 to 2017) and Summerland (up 20.8 points).

Penticton was ranked as having the highest crime severity index in the Okanagan, at No. 17 in the country.