What we know about crime in Kamloops and the Okanagan has shifted following the release of the latest crime data from Statistics Canada.
Statistics Canada released data on crime for Kelowna, Vernon, Penticton and Kamloops, July 25.
Crime rates show how many crimes are committed relative to the population of a city, whereas the crime severity index reflects how heinous those crimes are.
Every crime is assigned a number and a crime severity index is a calculated average of those numbers. For example, first-degree murder has a severity value of 8273.62, while mischief is valued at 26.99.
Kelowna’s crime severity index went down in 2023 from 126 to 118, a 5.92 per cent change.
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Kelowna Mayor Tom Dyas and the city's top cop Supt. Kara Triance were excited to announce the city’s crime statistics had show a positive trend downward.
“Representing 44 per cent of the city’s annual operating budget, community safety is the largest investment we make among all departments. This has allowed us to move forward on several initiatives and programs over the last year,” Dyas said in a press release.
Supt. Triance called a news conference and told reporters she's proud of the police initiatives that have contributed to a decrease in crime, including efforts regarding areas with higher levels of crime and addressing repeat offenders.
“We conduct geographic analysis to ensure all of the officers are focused on areas that are most impacted by crime. We participate in programs such as the Provincial Repeat Violent Offending Initiative and create our own repeat property crime focused programs,” Triance said.
Kamloops, on the other hand, saw a 9.6 per cent increase in crime severity from 150 to 165.
The crime severity index is only calculated for larger metropolitan areas like Kelowna and Kamloops.
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Kamloops might have the new reputation as the crime capital of Canada, but Penticton has a higher crime rate.
There were 7,022 incidents in Penticton, but adjusted to a rate per 100,000 residents the crime rate was 18,167.
In Kamloops the crime rate per 100,000 was 14,700. Kelowna’s crime rate was 11,836, and in Vernon the crime rate was 13,704.
Kelowna is no longer the crime capital of Canada, but it still ranks 7th in the country.
Crime rates went down across the board despite some of the public’s perception.
Vernon saw the slightest decrease with 0.71%, Kamloops had a 4% decrease, Penticton had a 7.9% decrease, and Kelowna had the most significant decrease of 12%.
Click here for Statistics Canada's data.
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