Today Statistics Canada released their ‘Police-reported crime statistics in Canada, 2023’ report.
As projected in recent months, the Kelowna Census Metropolitan Area (CMA), Crime Severity Index (CSI) value decreased 5.9% in reported crime in 2023. The Kelowna CMA consists of Kelowna, West Kelowna, Westbank First Nation, Lake Country and Peachland.
Statistics Canada will not be providing ranked information or name specific communities this year. Instead, they have offered tools and information to provide a comprehensive picture of how crime is measured in Canada.
The CSI measures crime reported to police and believed to be founded, reflecting the relative seriousness and severity of offences over time. Severity is measured by the average judicial sentence following court. For example, first-degree murder carries a weight score of 8273.62, while an incident of mischief is weighted at 26.99. Statistics Canada analyzes crime severity in 40 different Census Metropolitan Areas (CMA) in Canada, including the seven in British Columbia.
The CSI is not the sole measure of crime trends in our community. Superintendent Kara Triance provides regular, accurate reporting and analysis to the public and City Council. Alongside Statistics Canada data, our Criminal Intelligence and Data Analysts respond to trends promptly, allowing the Kelowna/Central Okanagan RCMP to implement tactics to reduce crime and focus resources on community safety.
Over the past 12 months and beyond, the Kelowna/Central Okanagan RCMP has developed and implemented several programs and proactive initiatives to address the CSI drivers in our community and ultimately drive crime down. These initiatives include:
• Participation in the Repeat Violent Offending Intervention Initiative (ReVOII);
• Initiation of the Repeat Offender Management Program (ROMP);
• Targeted enforcement through data driven intelligence;
• Collaboration on the development of Community Safety and Business Safety Toolkits;
• Collaboration with Community Safety Services Branch and businesses.
After examining the data captured by analysts within the Kelowna/Central Okanagan RCMP detachment along with released information from Statistics Canada, the top five Kelowna CMA CSI drivers and their respective percentage of change since 2022 are:
1) Make/Distribute Child Sexual Abuse Material (h83.1%);
2) Business break and enters (i27.9%);
3) Fraud (h36%);
4) Shoplifting under $5,000 (h4.6%);
5) Sexual assaults (h29.9%).
In response to these drivers, Kelowna/Central Okanagan RCMP enforcement increased efforts and focus on these crime types in several ways including;
• Daily tracking of police-reported crime to deploy resources effectively;
• Structuring Teams to focus on top CSI drivers;
• Supporting the Kelowna Integrated Court in collaboration with justice, social development, and health partners;
• Using geographic analysis to focus on high-impact areas;
• Leading multi-agency tables to support individuals;
• Increasing police visibility in streets, parks, and problem areas;
• Growing relationships with key partners and the business community.
“I am proud of our efforts and pleased with the steady decrease in 2023 crime across many areas of violent and non-violent crime,” said Kara Triance, Superintendent, Kelowna/Central Okanagan RCMP detachment. “Our police professionals will continue to tackle crime drivers relentlessly, serving the public with commitment and professionalism. We value our partnerships in our communities, and together, we will continue to strive to achieve significant changes by addressing the root causes of criminality.”
KELOWNA MAYOR TOM DYAS' STATEMENT
As a Council we recently updated our Priorities to ensure ongoing positive momentum and meaningful actions are taken on public safety and social issues. We are pleased to see our progress reflected in the annual Crime Severity Index (CSI) report issued by Statistics Canada today. The CSI is one of many indicators used by the City to evaluate and measure safety and crime in our community. While we are pleased to see the data reflect the positive trends we are starting to see in Kelowna, we do not wait or rely upon the CSI to tell us what our issues are as a community. RCMP provides crime data updates to Council on a regular basis so that, together, we are taking timely and innovative actions to address the safety needs of our community. Many of the types of crime that drive our position on the CSI are ones where we have seen positive downward trends over the past year.
Representing 44 percent of the City’s annual operating budget, Community Safety is the largest investment we make among all departments. This has allowed us to move forward on several initiatives and programs over the last year including:
· Convening a Mayor’s Task Force on Crime Reduction, which resulted in seven recommendations that focus on our residents, our neighbourhoods and neighbourhood associations, businesses and business improvement areas, and prioritizing safety for all communities in Kelowna.
· Enhancing visibility and presence of safety and enforcement positions, including 24 RCMP officers, 10 Bylaw officers, and 10 firefighters since 2022.
· Contributing $130,000 towards the launch of the URBA On Call program, which services the Upper Rutland Business Area with quickened response times that alleviate calls for RCMP and Bylaw to attend the area.
· Continuing delievery of the Community Safety Plan recommendations, with a focus on prevention and upstream initiatives, and improving how big systems work together.
Crime and Community Safety remain a top priority for this Council, and we are pleased to see positive changes in the community due to this commitment. To advance this priority in our community, we need to continue to work with organizations and other levels of government to address mental health supports and other areas in which the City is not designed or equipped to provide. We currently have several advocacy efforts ongoing, including the need for stricter accountability for repeat property offenders, bail reform and more local Crown Prosecutors dedicated particularly to bail hearings and repeat property offenders. We also advocated for banning the use of illicit drugs in public spaces, for stricter bail conditions for repeat violent offenders, increasing complex care housing and supports, and continuing to work with provincial partners to effectively address social issues such as homelessness, mental health, addictions, and complex needs.
We share the concerns that residents and businesses voice about safety in our community and we are committed to continue our efforts in collaboration with the RCMP to address crime and safety in our community head on.