Kelowna's crime is bad, but it's getting better | New

While crime has declined in Kelowna and Lake Country, it has increased in many other Okanagan communities, according to a report released this week by Maclean's magazine.

Kelowna ranked 39th out of 237 communities in Canada, with a crime severity index of 112.

This represented a drop of seven points between 2012 and 2017.

The national average crime severity index was 70.96.

The Kelowna violent crime index also dropped to 71, which is below the national average of 75.25.

The Maclean's report ranks communities by the Crime Severity Index, a Statistics Canada measure of all crimes reported to police.

The most dangerous city as a whole was identified as Wetaskiwin, Alberta, whose crime severity index was 258, an increase of 100 points from 2012 to 2017.

While Kelowna's overall crime rate has decreased, its homicide and gun crime rates increased last year.

There were five homicides for a rate of 3.79 per 100,000 population, which is above the national average of 1.68.

The firearms crime rate rose to 4.54 per 100,000 population, lower than the national average of 6.79.

The rate of badaults, badual badaults and robberies decreased, all below the national average.

"It is encouraging to see Kelowna's ranking down according to Maclean's magazine," said Capt. Jesse O'Donaghey of the Kelowna RCMP. "The City of Kelowna and the Kelowna RCMP will continue to work together to take a proactive and badytical approach to crime prevention and target high-risk recidivists and repeat offenders."

Crime also declined in Lake Country, with a Crime Severity Index of 50, placing it 157th in the country. It was a decrease of 20.6 points from 2012 to 2017.

The Lake Country Violent Crime Index was also down to 27.

The rates of badault, firearm and robbery offenses have decreased compared to last year, while the rate of badual badault has increased.

The West Kelowna Crime Severity Index was 67, which put it at number 111. This was an increase of 3.5 points from 2012 to 2017.

Its index of violent crime has also increased to 48.

Homicide and firearms crime rates in West Kelowna increased last year, while rates of badault, badual badault and robbery decreased.

There was one homicide in West Kelowna last year, bringing its rate to 2.9 per 100,000 population.

The firearms crime rate in West Kelowna was above the national average, but badaults, badual badaults and robberies were all below the national average.

Vernon's Crime Severity Index was 134, which placed it at # 24.

This was an increase of 3.29 points from 2012 to 2017.

Vernon's violent crime index also increased to 119.

A number of factors can have a positive or negative influence on crime reporting, including perpetrators of prolific offenses, serious offenses and targeted enforcement by the police, Const said. Kelly Brett with the Vernon RCMP.

"Vernon is also a smaller city and the size of the population is a determining factor in the ranking," she said. "One crime – violent or non-violent – can have a more significant impact on the ranking of crime severity than in major centers."

In 2016, Vernon experienced a number of violent incidents, including three in which a firearm was unloaded, said Brett.

The city also experienced a spike in property crime in early 2016, and targeted police activities resulted in the arrest of a number of prolific offenders.

"Even a prolific offender can have a significant impact on the non-violent crime rate," Brett said. "Vernon RCMP remains committed to developing crime reduction strategies that identify and target known prolific offenders, and we will continue to work with our partners and the community to reduce all types of crime in Vernon." . "

Crime severity indices also increased in Penticton (25.71 points between 2012 and 2017) and in Summerland (20.8 points).

Penticton has been rated as having the highest crime severity index in the Okanagan, at No. 17 in the country.