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Crime “severity” was up in both the City of North Vancouver and the District of West Vancouver last year but down in the District of North Vancouver compared to the year before.
That’s according to recent statistics released by Statistics Canada that measure both the volume and seriousness of crimes on a weighted “crime severity index,” which is also used to compare crime in communities across the country.
According to those statistics, the City of North Vancouver was ranked as the most ‘crime-ridden’ community on the North Shore, with a crime severity index of 89.85 in 2022, up eight per cent from the year before. Most of the increase was due to a hike in non-violent crime, according to the stats.
City of North Vancouver ranked tenth most crime-ridden
The stats put the City of North Vancouver as the tenth ‘most dangerous’ among large municipalities in the province, based on its crime severity index – directly below the City of Surrey (which was eighth) and the City of Vancouver (which was ninth).
The City of Prince George earned the dubious honour of being most crime-ridden, with the highest crime severity index of 207.5. Other cities in the top five included Richmond, Victoria, Kamloops and Kelowna.
In contrast, the District of West Vancouver had a crime severity index of just 57.81, while the District of North Vancouver was ranked among the safest communities, with a crime severity index of just 36.29.
In broad terms, crime on the North Shore is low compared to many other communities.
The “base score” on the crime severity index is 100 – based on the national average in 2006 – and is calculated by population.
A score above 100 indicates crime above that 2006 average, while a score below 100 indicates crime levels below that average.
“More serious crimes are assigned higher weights, less serious offences lower weights. As a result, more serious offences have a greater impact on changes in the index,” according to Statistics Canada.
In general terms, crime trends on the North Shore reflect those seen in other areas of the province, where crime rates ticked upwards following a lull during the pandemic.
A chart showing changes in the Crime Severity Index over time in the three North Shore municipalities. Nick Laba, North Shore News
Crime rates still lower than those in 1970s, '80s, '90s
Canada has seen overall crime drop over the past three decades; however, since 2015, the crime severity index (CSI) began trending upwards again.
Despite the recent increase, crime rates are still nowhere near what they were in past decades – both on the North Shore and elsewhere.
“We’re nowhere close to crime rates we had in the mid- to late-1970s,” said Neil Boyd, professor emeritus of criminology with Simon Fraser University. Even with recent increases, crime rates are also still below those of the 1990s, said Boyd.
“When people say it’s bad, it’s totally out of control … it’s not,” he said.
A big part of that is due to demographics, he said – most crime is committed by young men, so when young men make up a higher percentage of the population, crime rates tend to be higher.
Crime has been rising in past decade
On the North Shore, the crime severity index was higher in all communities during the 1990s (ranging from 108 in the City of North Vancouver to 78.68 in West Vancouver in 1998) and fell to their lowest levels about a decade ago (the District of North Vancouver had a CSI of 19 in 2016) before starting to rise again – a trend seen in other B.C. communities.
The recent uptick might have to do with increased levels of homelessness, mental illness and drug toxicity, said Boyd – but it’s difficult to pinpoint, he added.
In terms of where crime generally occurs, Boyd said it’s not surprising more crime on the North Shore happens in the commercial centre of the city than in more residential neighbourhoods. The same is true of a city like Vancouver, he said, and has been a trend for a long time.
-with files from Graeme Wood and Arthur Williams
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