(ADAM PROSKIW / iNFOnews.ca)

In the past five years, from 2017 to 2021, the number of criminal incidents reported to police in B.C. has climbed by a mere 8.7%. There’s a vastly different picture being painted in the Thompson-Okanagan’s five largest cities with some seeing an increase of more than 30%.

The worst city is Kelowna which saw a 46.2% increase in all incidents of crime.

It now has the highest crime rate amongst the country’s 35 largest metropolitan areas.

READ MORE: Kelowna's crime rate jumps 10% while numbers drop provincewide: Statistics Canada

The number of crimes reported in West Kelowna during those five years increased 35.6%. Vernon was up 28% and Kamloops was up 21.7%.

Only Penticton was near the provincial average with a 9.3% increase.

Statistics Canada released detailed crime statistics earlier this week that show a grim picture for the region.

When it comes to crimes per 100,000 population, B.C. as a whole showed little change, growing from 8,090 cases per 100,000 over that time frame to 8,318.

Kelowna was already above the provincial average at 10,740 cases per 100,000 in 2017. That jumped to 14,327 last year.

But, Kelowna was not the worst of the five cities.

Penticton, despite having a smaller increase in the actual number of incidents recorded, led the way with 14,744 cases per 100,000 in 2017 and jumped to 21,604 last year.

In 2017, Kamloops and Vernon had higher rates than Kelowna, at around 12,000 per 100,000 each. In 2021, they were very close to Kelowna.

West Kelowna, on the other hand, had a mere 5,010 cases per 100,000 in 2017 and only climbed to 6,183 last year.

READ MORE: Tourists and growth get blame for Kelowna's high crime rate: top cop

This is how it breaks down in some select specific crime categories as percentage increases in cases per 100,000 over the five-year timeframe:

VIOLENT CRIMINAL CODE OFFENCES

B.C. was up by 43%, Kelowna by 139%, Kamloops by 70%, West Kelowna by 144%, Penticton by 163% and Vernon by 48%.

SEXUAL ASSAULT 1

This is defined by Statistics Canada as: “An assault committed in circumstances of a sexual nature such that the sexual integrity of the victim is violated. Level 1 involves minor physical injuries or no injuries to the victim.”

The more serious Level 2 and Level 3 sexual assaults were much fewer in number, making comparisons less reliable.

For Level 1 sexual assaults, B.C. was up by 57%, Kelowna by 86%, Kamloops by 94%, West Kelowna by 129%, Penticton by 212% and Vernon by 57%.

ASSAULTS

Level 1 assaults are defined as: “The most common and refer to assaults that cause little to no physical harm to victims.”

B.C. was up by 151% in this category, Kelowna by 117%, Kamloops by 69%, West Kelowna by 83%, Penticton by 151% and Vernon by 45%.

Level 2 assaults are described as: “Assault with a weapon or causing bodily harm, are those that involve carrying, using or threatening to use a real or imitation weapon.”

They were up by 45% in B.C, up by 122% in Kelowna, by 47% in Kamloops, by 50% in West Kelowna, by 112% in Penticton and by 57% in Vernon.

There were too few Level 3, aggravated assaults, committed in B.C. to make for viable comparisons.

UTTERING THREATS

B.C. was up by 82%, Kelowna by 267%, Kamloops by 112%, West Kelowna by 554%, Penticton by 454% and Vernon by 74%.

While some may argue that the huge percentage increases in West Kelowna and Penticton were due to a small number of complaints.

That’s not really the case.

In 2017, Penticton recorded 52 threats. By 2021, that had climbed to 296.

Similarly, in West Kelowna, there were 15 threats recorded in 2017, jumping to 106 last year.

There are many more categories of crimes in the data base, ranging from first degree murder (37 to 64 per year for all of B.C.) to “bestiality in the presence of, or incites, a child” (none recorded in any of the five years) and anal intercourse (a total of eight but none in the last two years).

To explore the data base, go here.

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