OTTAWA - The annual crime severity index (CSI), released Tuesday by Statistics Canada, was a mixed bag for Estevan.
The document showed that the city’s rating for 2021 stood at 91.13, down from 109.96 the previous year. The 2021 CSI is more in line with 2018, when it was at 90.17, and 2019, when it stood at 90.28.
Estevan’s violent crime figure stood at 155.06 in 2021, up from 82.10, but that can partially be chalked up to an alleged homicide that occurred in June of last year – the first homicide charge to occur in the community since 2014.
The non-violent crime number stood at 67.92, which was down from 119.72 the previous year.
Overall, Estevan sat No. 68 in Canada for the CSI.
Among the six Saskatchewan cities with municipal policing services, Estevan was fifth. Weyburn was the only community lower with a CSI of 77.3.
The Crime Severity Index is a measure of police-reported crime that reflects the relative seriousness of individual offences, and tracks changes in crime severity.
North Battleford ranked first in the country at 480.7.
Statistics Canada also tracked crime severity in rural communities.
In the case of the Estevan RCMP’s area, the CSI was at 63.04, down from 92.90 in 2020 and 96.02 in 2019.
The violent crime index was at 57.24, down from 64.30, while the non-violent crime rate was 64.98, well down from 102.97 in 2020.
The area patrolled by the Carlyle RCMP had a CSI rating of 110.41, up marginally from the 109.29 seen in 2020 but below the 130.82 in 2019. The violent crime severity index stood at 82.63, down from 135.47, while the non-violent CSI was at 120.14, up from 99.61.
In the Carnduff RCMP area, the CSI was 37.09, down from 48.99 in 2020. The violent crime CSI was at 30.51, down from 42.89 in 2020, while the non-violent CSI was 39.37, compared to 51.07 in 2020.
The Aug. 10 edition of the Mercury will have more on this story.
