Statistics Canada has released the “Police-reported crime statistics in Canada, 2023” numbers. They are available from Stats Canada via The Daily — Police-reported crime statistics in Canada, 2023 (statcan.gc.ca)
The 2023 Crime Severity Index (CSI) for the City of Sarnia:
- Overall CSI up 10.69%
- Violent CSI up 24.48%
- Non-Violent CSI up 4.42%
The Crime Severity Index tracks changes in the severity of police-reported crime by accounting for both the amount of crime reported by police in a given jurisdiction and the relative seriousness of the crimes. CSI measures changes in the level of severity of crime in the community year over year.
This chart represents the CSI over time. While non-violent and overall CSI are varying within long term averages, violent CSI has rebounded from a 2022 drop.
The crime “rate” (violations scaled to population) increased 19.61%. There are many increased individual crime categories including charges of Breach probation (up 106%), Disturbing the Peace (up 92%), a 54% increase in shoplifting, and a 19% increase in theft under. Other noteworthy changes are a reduction in Break and enter (17% drop).
StatsCan publishes the number of violations for each police service. Looking at the 2023 data compared to the 2022 data, this chart shows the top 10 high-volume crime categories in terms of year over year increase.
"While the increases to the CSI are concerning, they are not unexpected given the increases to calls for service and incidents of serious crime. 2023 also saw improvements made to our reporting processes to better capture and reflect the reality of crime in our city. Online reporting and the introduction of the Community Crime Unit are examples of encouraging the timely reporting of previously untracked incidents.
We continue to look for innovative and fiscally responsible ways to address ever-evolving crime and quality of life concerns in our community. These statistics are important considerations when we look to our deployment and resource allocations for 2024 and beyond."
- Chief Derek Davis, Sarnia Police