Chilliwack’s overall crime rate inched upward in 2013, reflecting a three-year pattern of marginal increases.
According to data released by Stats Canada, total Criminal Code violations in Chilliwack (excluding traffic) rose by 1.5 per cent in 2013. That’s slightly more than the 0.6 per cent increase in 2012, and the 0.9 per cent rise in 2011.
And it bucks the provincial trend, where the crime rate province-wide fell 5.7 per cent in 2013.
Much of the increase can be blamed on property crimes. Chilliwack saw a 3.5 per cent increase in that category last year, reflecting 5,256 total reported incidents in 2013.
Property crimes also rose in 2012 by 5.24 per cent, following three years of double-digit declines.
Violent crimes, meanwhile, reached their lowest point in the past five years.
There were 1,083 incidents reported last year – a 10.5 per cent decline over the year previous.
The Crime Severity Index (CSI) also continued a five-year slide.
The statistic – which doesn’t just measure the volume of crime, but the severity – fell to 104.3, down 5.30 per cent since 2012.
That good news, however, is tempered by a provincial average of 89.18
Also, a steep decline in the CSI for violent crimes (down 23 points), masks an almost stagnant year in the non-violent category, which would include property crimes. While down slightly from last year, it still sits at 117.13 – 25 points above the provincial average.