Saskatoon ranked fourth in big-city crime severity index in 2020 despite decreases

Saskatoon’s crime severity index fell to the lowest its been since 2014, according to new data available from Statistics Canada.

The figure fell 10 per cent lower than 2019 to a value of 105.7, when Saskatoon had a CSI of 118.

Despite the drop, Saskatoon was well above the national CSI of 73.4 and had the fourth-highest index among Canada’s largest cities. Regina was the next major city on the list with a CSI of 105.7.

Saskatoon ranked behind only Lethbridge, Alta., Winnipeg and Kelowna, B.C.

The CSI is an annual number released by Statistics Canada which uses things like the number of police-reported offences in a given year and the seriousness of the crimes to calculate the final number.

It includes both violent and non-violent crime.

Saskatoon’s 2020 violent CSI was 119.9, down from 137 in 2019, while its non-violent CSI was 100.4. The year before it was 110.9.

According to figures released from Saskatoon Police earlier this year, the city recorded 12 homicides in 2020 compared to a record-high of 16 in 2019.

Public health restrictions in place because of the COVID-19 pandemic may have contributed to the decrease in crime last year, Statistics Canada says.

The 2020 national CSI dropped roughly eight per cent from 2019 while the crime rate dropped 10 per cent.

Saskatchewan had the highest homicide rate in Canada last year, with 5.09 homicides per 100,000 people.