SookeB´ÎÔª¹ÙÍøÍøÖ·™s crime rate crept up last year.
The districtB´ÎÔª¹ÙÍøÍøÖ·™s crime severity index was 56.45 in 2021, compared with 47.96 in 2020. Nationally, the average crime severity index is 73.7.
The index measures the volume and severity of police-reported crime in Canada. All crimes, including traffic and drug offences, are assigned a weight based on their seriousness against a base index of 100.
Among South Island communities listed by Statistic Canada, Victoria had the highest crime severity index at 148.43.
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Sooke RCMP responded to fewer incidents last year B´ÎÔª¹ÙÍøÍøÖ·“ there were 5,714 incidents, compared with 5,857 in 2020.
Nationally, the crime severity index dropped slightly last year to 73.7 from 73.9 in 2020, a year when the index dropped seven per cent after five consecutive years of increases.
The index was stable last year, largely because a five per cent increase in the violent crime severity index was offset by lower non-violent crime levels. The boost in violent crime was driven by an 18 per cent increase in sexual assaults across the country. There were 32,242 police-reported sexual assaults in 2021.
A reduction in non-violent offences was mostly a result of 10 per cent drop in break and enter rates and a four per cent drop in theft under $5,000 rates.
Across Canada, there were 788 homicides, 29 more than in 2020. The number of Indigenous homicide victims fell from 18 to 190 in 2021. However, Indigenous CanadiansB´ÎÔª¹ÙÍøÍøÖ·™ homicide rate is six times that of non-Indigenous people.
Four-in-10 homicides involved firearms. Of the 297 firearm-related homicides, almost half (46 per cent) were considered gang-related.
There were 5,996 opioid-related offences B´ÎÔª¹ÙÍøÍøÖ·” up 13 per cent from 2020. However, heroin rates were down 32 per cent, ecstasy down 25 per cent, methamphetamine down 20 per cent and cocaine-related offences down 15 per cent.
Another positive trend saw impaired driving rates fall nine per cent.
B´ÎÔª¹ÙÍøÍøÖ·“ with files from Black Press
B´ÎÔª¹ÙÍøÍøÖ·¨
editor@sookenewsmirror.com
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