Kamloops ranked 23rd among Canada’s most dangerous cities

Nov 24, 2017 | 6:23 AM

KAMLOOPS — We aren’t the worst, but we’re far from the best. 

 A Macleans Magazine list of the 229 most dangerous cities in Canada puts three B-C communities in the top ten and six more in the top 20.

    The report ranks Williams Lake in fourth place, only trailing the Saskatchewan cities of North Battleford and Prince Albert and the community of Thompson, Manitoba.

    Langley City is ranked sixth, while Vernon is in 9th spot, followed by Prince George at 11th and Terrace, Penticton, Dawson Creek, Chilliwack and Port Alberni holding spots 15 though 19 — while North Saanich is listed with the lowest crime rating for B-C, taking 225th place.

    The report ranks communities according to the Crime Severity Index, a Statistics Canada measurement of all police-reported crime, which accounts for both the volume and seriousness of offences. 

Kamloops sits 23rd on the list. The Crime Severity Index is at 128, well above the Canadian average of 71, while the Violent Crime Severity Index is at 99, above the Canadian average of 75. 

Overall, many of the categories show Kamloops trending upward in crime, and above the Canadian average in most of the categories in the Macleans report. 

Firearms offences are one of the few categories trending downward, although the statistics probably don’t take into  account the number of recent offences in the last month.