The annual Crime Severity Index (CSI) and Weighted Clearance Rate information for 2024 has been released by Statistics Canada where the country saw a decrease in CSI of 4 per cent, and in B.C., the CSI dropped by 11 per cent.
The CSI measures the seriousness of crime from one year to the next by tracking the prevalence of crime within a community, and the seriousness of the crimes committed, according to the University of Waterloo.
In Victoria, the CSI decreased by 10.5 per cent, which is impacted primarily by a 17.5 per cent decrease in CSI non-violent crimes, the lowest CSI in Victoria since 2020. In Esquimalt, however, the CSI increased by 3.2 per cent overall, mostly impacted by a 3.49 per cent increase in CSI violent crimes.
“I am happy to see a decrease in the CSI in Victoria, in-line with what’s happening in the province and the rest of Canada,” said VicPD Chief Del Manak. “We’ve put a significant amount of effort into crime prevention and disrupting nonviolent crime, and I commend all of our officers, reserves and volunteers for this positive outcome.”
In Victoria, the total number of police incidents was 11,009, a four-year low, or about a 14 per cent drop from 2020; however around 2.68 per cent of those cases were unfounded.
In total, 1,441 adults were charged in Victoria and another 30 youth faced charges as well.
In Esquimalt, VicPD dealt with 666 incidents, the lowest rate since 2020 and a 7.3 per cent drop from 2023. In total, the Esquimalt jurisdiction saw 99 people charged with crimes throughout the year.
In terms of specific crimes, the two municipalities saw a 79 per cent jump in cases regarding sexual violations against children, with 88 incidents in the year, though only eight people were charged with crimes. Assault with a weapon or with intent to cause bodily harm also hit a high of 497 incidents in Victoria, with 172 people charged, the highest number in at least two decades.
Overall, both jurisdictions saw decreases in the crime rate, with Victoria seeing a decrease of 10.33 per cent and Esquimalt saw a decrease of 6.54 per cent.
VicPD still has the highest CSI of municipal police departments in the province. They say the concentration of activity in the downtown core influences the overall crime statistics compared to other municipalities, though other municipal CSIs incorporate a downtown core as well as surrounding neighbourhoods, so they say a regional police service incorporating neighbouring jurisdictions with the downtown core would balance the CSI to be closer to the provincial average.
