Statistics Canada’s Crime Severity Index numbers for 2022 were released, showing an increase in North Battleford, Sask., but residents refuted that crime was increasing in the community.
Chandra Thiell owns Autumn + Ash Decor & DIY Studio in downtown North Battleford and says the Crime Severity Index doesn’t tell the whole story.
“The numbers don’t reflect what the community actually is,” Thiell said.
The index, which takes into account all criminal code violations, says the level of severity in crime increased by 15.91 per cent in the city from 2021 to 2022.
It noted there were increases to both violent and non-violent crime, both reaching the highest number recorded for the city, with the Statistics Canada website going back as far as 1998.
Thiell said she’s in the area during the evening holding classes and her customers are comfortable coming to those classes.
She said her father owns a business downtown as well, noting she grew up in the area, and adding that she and her kids still feel comfortable walking downtown.
Thiell said there has been an increase of needles being left around, but said the downtown committee helping the core has been doing a great job trying to keep the place safe and clean.
“North Battleford is a great community, it really is.”
She said the numbers from the Crime Severity Index often lead to jokes about people in the area being from “Crime Town.”
The City of North Battleford sent a long statement ahead of the release of the index, reiterating that it doesn’t give an accurate picture.
“The Crime Severity Index is a tool that is used primarily to assist law enforcement and governments in determining funding and resource allocation for police services. The CSI does not accurately represent whether a community is safe or unsafe,” read the statement.
“With the City’s population at slightly more than 14,000, North Battleford is often singled out when the Crime Severity Index rates are populated in comparison to other communities with higher populations. Communities with smaller populations, like North Battleford, are more heavily impacted by serious crimes as weighted by analysts when determining the Crime Severity Index.”
The city said additional policing resources have been allocated from the province as well as the city, but said those increased enforcement levels mean an increased index number is to be expected.
“This means that the city’s RCMP detachment is doing its job. This also includes the recent addition of a second Crime Reduction Team designated by the provincial government, and a warrant suppression team targeting the apprehension of violent offenders.”
The Saskatchewan RCMP clarified that the index is not used by them to inform decision making on funding/resource allocation, but it is used by other police services.
North Battleford mayor David Gillan said a few serious incidents in a smaller community like North Battleford can severely skew the index numbers.
“We face more sensitivity in these numbers,” Gillan said.
“It really hurts our communities when people talk about one community being ‘Crime Town’ when looking at one specific index that again, in context, is very complicated.”
Inspector Jesse Gilbert with Battlefords RCMP said the top five offences that contribute to the index numbers are all non-violent offences.
He gave an example of there being a spike in break-and-enters, but said a lot of that is related to addictions issues and abandoned property.
“The numbers do reflect what’s happening in the community, but do they reflect an overall impact to community safety as a whole?”
He said there have been proactive initiatives within the city, noting they have had great engagement and have seen a decrease in things like vehicle thefts.
Gilbert said one of the top crimes in the index for North Battleford is administration of justice offences, which he said stems from the proactive effort of curfew checks, which he says often results in charges and will bolster index numbers.
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