10-year crime rate nudges upward in Waterloo region and Guelph: StatsCan

The police-reported crime rate in Waterloo region went up by 1 per cent between 2007 and 2017, new numbers from Statistics Canada show.

The numbers released Monday morning also show the crime rate went down in all but five reported metropolitan areas across Canada often decreasingby double digits.

Guelph also saw an increase in crime rates by 3 per cent between 2007 and 2017. The only other area to see an increase was Greater Sudbury, which also saw a 1 per cent increase.

There were no numbers for two New Brunswick cities, Moncton and Saint John, due to a change in policing boundaries so the numbers are no longer considered comparable.

The overall police-reported crime rate in all of Canada decreased by 23 per cent in the 10-year period.

Crime severity rises

The data released Monday also looked at the severity of crimes. The crime severity index looks at whether the crime is coming to the attention of police more often and whether the crime is more serious in a particular area compared to the rest of Canada.

Each offence is given a seriousness "weight" more serious crimes are given higher weights than less serious offences which is then calculated to give an area its index number.

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In Waterloo region, the total crime severity index sits at 69.9 for 2017, Statistics Canada reported. Guelph is 64.3 while Canada as a whole is 72.9. The highest number on the index is in Saskatoon with 115. The lowest is Barrie at 45.3.

More than half of Canada's census metropolitan areas saw an increase in the crime severity index, Statistics Canada said.

High largest rises were in Sudbury (25 per cent), Moncton and Guelph (15 per cent) and Waterloo region (14 per cent).

More break and enters, sexual assaults

The crime severity index reported what crimes may be contributing to changes between 2016 and 2017.

It noted in Waterloo region, crimes driving the change include increases in break and enter, fraud, sexual assault and robbery.

In Guelph, it was also break and enter, fraud and sexual assault.

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In Waterloo region, the number of sexual assaults reported to police rose by 44 per cent the second highest jump in the country, second to Kingston with 56 per cent. Guelph came in just behind Waterloo region with a 43 per cent jump.

Guelph also saw the highest jump in the number of robberies and break and enters, with a 42 per cent jump in robberies (followed by Saguenay, Que., with a 34 per cent increase, Waterloo region had a 24 per cent increase) and a 26 per cent jump in break and enters (Sudbury also had a 26 per cent increase followed by Moncton with a 21 per cent increase and Waterloo region with 20 per cent).