Edmonton’s crime rate holds steady.

City stands alone in Canada by not showing decline in 2013

Think of it as a glass half full: crime is down everywhere else in Canada, but at least it isn’t going up in Edmonton.

Statistics Canada singled out Edmonton in its analysis of police-reported crime Wednesday, pointing to the city as a sole exception in 2013 that saw rates fall nearly 10 per cent nationwide.

Alberta’s capital was the only one of 33 Canadian municipalities studied that didn’t see drops in crime rate or severity. The city’s crime rate — at 6,743 incidents per 100,000 people — remains roughly the same as the previous year. Crime severity didn’t budge either. A newer index that weighs crimes based on average sentences, Edmonton’s rate stayed at 84.5.

Edmonton police watch the numbers, but there’s more to it than just ranking best to worst, acting chief Brian Simpson said Tuesday. Other factors play a role, such as the high numbers of people moving in and out of the city.

“We’re the economic driver for Canada,” he said. “We have a large influx of new people to our community every day. High levels of employment, high levels of disposable income, factors which impact crime.”

Crime rates have fallen in Canada since the early 1990s — 30 per cent alone over the last decade.

StatsCan attributes last year’s lower numbers to fewer break-and-enters. However, most offences were down in 2013, though police saw higher rates of extortion, child pornography and other child abuse, aggravated sexual assault and identity fraud.

The report also singles out Edmonton as an exception in the non-violent crime severity index, which increased because of high numbers of vehicle thefts and minor theft.

Simpson said Edmonton police study rates and trends closely and have already taken steps to stem vehicle thefts.

“We saw an increase happening last year; we’ve put energy and effort into it,” he said. “It’s down two per cent over last year.”

Canada’s average rate dropped by eight per cent to 5,190 incidents per 100,000 people, while its severity index fell nine per cent to 68.7. Newfoundland and Labrador saw the sole increase in crime severity, while the Yukon crime rate jumped 14 per cent.

Overall, Alberta’s crime numbers were down slightly and seventh worst among Canadian provinces and territories, with rates of 7,018 and a severity of 83.7. Canada’s far north had the highest rates. Numbers from Nunavut and the Northwest Territories were six to nine times higher than the national average; severity ratings were quadruple the average.

Although Edmonton’s rates stayed the same, it’s not the worst ranked city. On both scales, Edmonton ranked fifth worst, behind Regina, Saskatoon, Kelowna and Vancouver. The only other Alberta city measured was Calgary, which had 4,258 incidents per 100,000, and a crime severity score of 60.4, respective drops of two and one per cent.