Police-reported crime statistics in Canada, 2023

Kelowna

2024-07-25 10:48 PDT

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 Nations, 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 7 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:

Make/Distribute Child Sexual Abuse Material (+83.1%);
Business break and enters (-27.9%);
Fraud (+36%);
Shoplifting under $5,000 (+4.6%);
Sexual assaults (+29.9%).

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, Officer in Charge, 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.

Superintendent Kara Triance addressing local media