The crime numbers for 2015 are out, and once again the Queen City ranks among the worst cities in the country.
According to the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics (CCJS) Regina placed in the top three in some of their major categories. The Queen City has the highest homicide rate, ranked second highest on the crime severity index, and had the third highest crime rate.
The rankings are done on based on 33 major metropolitan areas.
Stats like the murder rate are broken down per 100,000 people. Regina had eight homicides in 2015, which equals a homicide rate of 3.3 per 100,000 people.
The numbers paint a grim picture by themselves, but show improvement when placed in a historic context.
In 2005, Regina’s crime severity index ranked more than double the Canadian average, but in the last ten years the gap has shrunk to 54 per cent of the Canadian average.
While Regina is still ranking high in crime stats, it’s seen some of the biggest crime decreases of any Canadian city between 2005 and 2015. This includes a 48 per cent drop in the crime severity index rating, second only to Halifax, NS, at 51 per cent.
Last year was also the first since 2003 both the crime severity index and crime rates rose. The Regina Police Service attributes this to a rise in property crimes due to a struggling economy.