Crime rates have been on the decline in B.C. for many years, but in Chilliwack the rate not only is comparably high, but it’s not shrinking as fast as elsewhere.
In 2017, there were 12,214 incidents of crime per 100,000 population reported to police in Chilliwack, according to Statistics Canada numbers recently released.
That compares to 10,715 per 100,000 in Surrey, 9,094 per 100,000 in Mission, 8,647 per 100,000 in Vancouver, 7,939 per 100,000 in Langley Township, 6,777 per 100,000 in Abbotsford, and 4,948 per 100,000 in Delta.
In the Lower Mainland, only Hope at 17,394 and Langley City at 19,974 were higher.
But not only is Chilliwack’s rate one of the highest, the level has remained relatively stable, only dropping of 9.2 per cent since the rate of 13,454 per 100,000 in 2008.
Over that time, Langley Township’s dropped 12 per cent, Hope 19 per cent, Surrey 20 per cent, Abbotsford 31 per cent and Mission 36 per cent.
Provincewide the rate dropped 24 per cent from 10,886 per 100,000 in 2008 to 8,263 per 100,000 last year.
As for specific crimes, robbery at 80.28 incidents per 100,000 population in 2017 is down from 105.74 in 2016, but compares to 51.4 B.C.-wide
Total property crime at a rate of 6,995 in 2017 is down 10.8 per cent from 7,839 in 2016, but last year was at a rate 45 per cent higher than the provincial rate of 4,814.5.
Total criminal code traffic violations were at a rate of 185 for the last two years, a rate 41 per cent lower than the B.C.-wide rate of 315.
As for the crime severity index (CSI), which measures the volume and severity of police-reported crime in Canada, Chilliwack was at 118.88 in 2017. Again, only Hope at 142.33 and Langley City at 187.49 was higher.
The provincial CSI was 88.93 in 2017 while nationwide it rose two per cent last year to 72.9.
The Canadian crime rate was 5,334 incidents per 100,000 population, a rate 23 per cent lower than a decade ago.
• RELATED: Head of Chilliwack RCMP sums up six months of policing the city
• RELATED: Chilliwack’s crime rate the worst in the region
@PeeJayAitch
paul.henderson@theprogress.com
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