Crime rate in Kelowna falls, but region still a national leader  

Statistics Canada released its annual crime severity index on Thursday, and the Central Okanagan is either No. 1 or No. 2 in the nation on a list no one wants to be associated with.

Among Canada’s census metropolitan areas (CMA) in 2022, Kelowna had the highest reported crime rate of 10,532 per 100,000 residents.

No other CMA eclipsed 10,000, with Lethbridge in second at 9,358 and Winnipeg in third at 8,757. The national average was 5,668.

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Vancouver’s crime rate was 5,891 per 100,000 residents with Abbotsford-Mission at 5,706 and Victoria at 5,692.

Notably, Kelowna’s 2022 stats dropped five per cent from 2021, when its crime rate was 11,112 per 100,000 residents. Again, that year, no other community had a crime rate higher than 10,000.

However, when it came to the crime severity index (CSI), a weighted statistic, Winnipeg was first with a ranking of 136.6.

“The (crime-severity index) takes into account both the volume and the severity of crime,” said Stats Canada, adding that most provinces and territories recorded CSI increases from 2021 to 2022.

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Kelowna was second at 128.0 with Lethbridge third at 119.0. The national crime severity index average was 78.1.

Vancouver had a crime severity index stat of 92.4, with Abbotsford at 85.3 and Victoria at 75.0.

In 2020, Kelowna’s CSI was 111.9, which rose to 122.3 in 2021.

Stats Canada said “the police reported crime rate — a measure of the volume of crime increased by five per cent from 2021 to 2022, up to 5,668 incidents per 100,000 population. Like the CSI, the crime rate in 2022 (four per cent drop) was lower than in 2019.”

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The national agency also said fraud rates in 2022 were nearly twice as high as a decade earlier (78 per cent increase), while extortion rates were five times higher.

“Overall, the rate of extortion was five times higher in 2022 than in 2012, rising from 5 to 25 incidents per 100,000 population,” said Stats Canada.

In late June, Kelowna RCMP Supt. Kara Triance told city council that Stats Canada’s numbers need to be taken into context.

“Perhaps the key takeaway today is it’s important to educate and inform our citizens that the CSI is not Kelowna’s crime rate and Kelowna is not a national and provincial leader in crime rate,” she said, “despite the fact that property crime remains a significant priority for our city.”

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On Thursday afternoon, Kelowna RCMP issued a statement on the annual report.

“Notably, on its own as a city in the province of B.C. and not as a CMA, Lake Country ranked 129th, Peachland ranked 121st, West Kelowna ranked 84th and Kelowna ranked 34th in the list of cities in crime severity index,” said Kelowna RCMP.

Triance added that the detachment remains committed to addressing crime in our community.

“I am really pleased to report since the release of the 2021 report last year, we have seen a steady decrease in crime in almost every area of violent and non-violent crime,” said Triance.

“Our officers will continue to be relentless in tackling the drivers of crime in our community and serve our public tirelessly with commitment and professionalism.  We appreciate the partnerships and continued work of justice, health, and housing who together can effect significant change, getting to the roots of criminality.”