Statistics Canada has released its Crime Severity Index (CSI) report for 2021, with the data showing Saskatchewan has the highest crime rates in Canada.
Saskatchewan’s total CSI number — including violent and non-violent offences — was 146.8, which increased three per cent compared to 2020, the report showed. While other provinces had higher percentage change increases, this province’s total CSI number was the highest among all jurisdictions.
Canada’s total CSI number was 73.7, a five-per-cent decline from 2020.
The summary of this StatsCan report excludes data from the three northern territories because, as the report notes, their small populations make the data not comparable to the 10 provinces.
This province’s violent CSI number stood at 185.9, an increase of four per cent compared to 2020 and the highest among the provinces. Meanwhile, Saskatchewan’s non-violent CSI number was 132.3, an increase of three per cent compared to 2020 and the highest among the provinces.
There were 70 homicides in Saskatchewan last year, an increase of nine per cent from two years ago. This number means this province had a homicide rate of 5.93 per 100,000 population.
Saskatchewan’s homicide rate per population was the highest in Canada, although British Columbia and Ontario had higher percentage increases in the total number of homicides.
The number of robberies in this province declined three per cent last year compared to 2020, to 917 incidents. Sexual assaults increased year-over-year by five per cent to 1,424 incidents; break-ins decreased two per cent year-over-year to 8,436 incidents; and impaired driving decreased nine per cent to 6,446 incidents.
Total fraud cases in Saskatchewan — fraud, identity theft, identity fraud — decreased five per cent year-over-year to 6,259 incidents.
Total drug offences in this province — marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine, ecstasy, opioids, heroin and other drugs — declined seven per cent last year compared to 2020, with 2,434 total offences recorded.
The report showed that the total youth CSI index number last year was 89.0, a decline of five per cent compared to 2020 although still the highest among all provinces. Meanwhile, the national youth CSI index number was 41.0.
Saskatchewan’s youth violent CSI number in 2021 was 126.4, a decline of two per cent compared to the year before but still the highest in Canada. Meanwhile, the non-violent CSI number was 62.6, a decline of eight per cent year-over-year but still the highest in this country.
The total number of police-report crimes — violent, property, other Criminal Code offences — last year in Saskatchewan was 136,402, which was an increase of four per cent compared to the year before, the report said. This number means there were 11,561 incidents per 100,000 population, compared to the national average of 5,375 incidents per 100,000 population.
Of the 2,385,782 total police-reported crime incidents recorded last year across Canada, 130,419 of them — or five per cent — were considered unfounded.
