Lethbridge has cracked a top ten list of safest cities in Canada.
“So much more we can do but so great to see us rank that high,” said City of Lethbridge mayor, Blaine Hyggen.
A report from Rentola.ca ranks Lethbridge 9th out of 34 municipalities – the highest in western Canada.
“Lethbridge certainly has our issues. We do have crime here and we’d certainly like it to be lower, but in the totality, this is a very safe city to live in,” Deputy Chief Gerald Grobmeier, Lethbridge Police Service.
The report used Statistics Canada data on four areas: crime severity index, non-violent and violent crime severity index, crime-solving rate, and how many police officers there are per capita numbers.
Get daily Lethbridge news
Cities were then sorted according to their average score.
“That’s a little more global in its view of what makes a city safe or not safe,” said Grobmeier.
Lethbidge’s overall crime severity index is one of the highest in Canada.
According to the Lethbridge Police Service, while officers respond to an average of 100 calls per day, the majority are non-violent in nature. Deputy Chief Grobmeier adds since 2019, there has been a 19 per cent reduction in overall crime.
“That is a significant amount of drop in 3 years, really numbers that are unheard of.”
Gobmeier identifies drops in break-and-enters and a significant decrease in motor vehicles theft.
Hyggen expects this more robust report will make Lethbridge more appealing to prospective residents.
“We do have a beautiful community here,” said Hyggen. “These are the things that are really attracting individuals to our community. (We’re) looking forward to being even safer next year.”
Rentola’s report named Barrie, Ont. as the safest Canadian city, while Winnipeg was ranked last.
Meanwhile, Calgary ranked 20th and Edmonton 21st.