Crime severity rises in Alberta for 4th year in a row

Crime severity grew again in Alberta in 2017, continuing a trend the province has seen over the past four years.

New data released Monday by Statistics Canada shows Edmonton has more severe crime than the rest of the province, while rates of property crime are highest in smaller cities, towns and rural areas.

Alberta's crime severity reached a two-decade peak in 2003, then gradually declined for the next 10 years.

Since 2013, however,it has been on the rise.

Tap or run your mouse over this interactive graph to see how crime severity has changed over the past two decades:

Can't see the graph? Click here for a version that should work on your mobile device.

The crime severity index measures not just the number of criminal violations but also weights the violations based on their seriousness. The level of seriousness is derived from actual sentences handed down by the courts.

It all adds up to an indexed "score" that is used to measure how crime compares between jurisdictions and over time. (A score of "100" is equal to the national level of crime severity in 2006.)

Crime severity was higher in Edmonton than in the rest of Alberta in 2017,as it has historically been.

Calgary, meanwhile, continues to see less severe crime than the rest of the province.

Its crime severity index was higher than the national average, however, for the third year in a row.

Rural property crime

Across Canada, rural areas tend to have higher crime rates (violations per 100,000 population) than urban areas, and Alberta is no exception.

Rural crime is particularly prevalent across the three Prairie provinces, according to the data.

"In2017, relatively high rural crime rates were reported in Manitoba (42% higher than the province's urban crime rate), Alberta (38% higher) and Saskatchewan (36% higher)," Statistics Canada said in a release.

"Almost half of crime in Canada's rural areas occurred in these three provinces, which accounted for about a quarter of Canada's population served by rural police services."

Alberta was different from the other Prairie provinces in one way, however.

"In Manitoba and Saskatchewan, the high rates of rural crime were the results of higher rates of all types of crime (violent, property and other crime)," Statistics Canada said.

"In Alberta, however, the difference was largely due to high rates of property crime."

Tap or run your mouse over this interactive graph to see how property crime rates have changed in Alberta over the past two decades:

Can't see the graph?Click herefor a version that should work on your mobile device.

Alberta's property crime rate shot up in 2015 and then increased slightly in 2016 and 2017.

Last year, there were 5,463 property crimes per 100,000 people reported to police, the highest level the province has seen since 2008.

The exception was Calgary, where the rate decreased slightly last year, to 4,183 incidents per 100,000 people.

Since 2011, property crime rates have been highest outside of Alberta's two biggest cities.

Prior to that, Edmonton's property crime rate was significantly higher than the provincial average, while Calgary's property crime rate has historically been lower.

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