New numbers from Statistics Canada have ranked St. Albert the safest urban centre in Alberta.
The Crime Severity Index (CSI) weights various crimes based on their relative seriousness and multiplies that by volume in any given area. The result is then divided by population to determine the local CSI. The lower the number, the safer the area is believed to be.
St. Albert scored 45.47 on the CSI for 2013, well below the Alberta (83.68) or Canada (68.72) averages. That is a nearly 20 per cent drop from two years ago when St. Albert scored 56.5.
Insp. Kevin Murray of the RCMP was pleased with the numbers.
“We’re happy to see it drop,” said Murray.
“It’s not something we spend a lot of time agonizing over but it’s good to keep an eye on. Our main priority will always be to reduce crime. If we do that, the number goes down.”
Murray credited the decrease in the CSI with the RCMP’s community work and proactive approach to crime.
“There’s been a lot of education about crime prevention and how to avoid dangerous situations. Stuff like locking your door and not leaving valuables in cars makes a big difference in those numbers.”
Mayor Nolan Crouse was also happy with the 2013 rankings.
“It’s something to be proud of,” said Crouse.
“When we look at the numbers for surrounding areas like Red Deer or Grande Prairie, it’s clear that St. Albert is doing something right.”
Red Deer and Grande Prairie have the ninth and 11th worst CSI in the country respectively despite having a similar population to St. Albert.
Despite the impressive numbers there is still lots of room for improvement.
“We want to have a grassroots approach to fighting crime,” said Crouse.
“But those programs take a long time to set up. The main thing we’ve learned from Caledon is that you can’t fight crime by just adding more officers. You have to get the community to work with you.”
Caledon, Ontario was selected as the safest municipality in Canada by Maclean’s from 2008 to 2012 and has one of the lowest CSI scores in the country.
The mayor visited Caledon recently and was impressed at the community involvement at all levels of the municipality. Crouse said he would like to see some of those initiatives in St. Albert one day.
“The city runs programs that encourage community involvement,” said Crouse.
“We held 90 block parties last year. It’s a great way for residents to interact with each other and meet some patrol officers.
“I’d like to see more programs like that. Citizen-led initiatives are going to be important in the future to keep those numbers low.”
Alberta Crime Severity Index Rankings - 2013
St. Albert – 45.47<br />Strathcona – 50.23<br />Calgary – 59.63<br />Medicine Hat – 65.30<br />Lethbridge – 77.02<br />Edmonton – 93.34<br />Wood Buffalo – 100.60<br />Grande Prairie – 148.67<br />Red Deer – 156.79
