Barrie is rated as having the lowest 2020 Violent Crime Severity Index (VCSI) in Canada, according to Statistics Canada’s annual analysis.
Barrie's crime rate dropped 33 per cent over the last decade, as compared to the rate for Canada as a whole which dropped 14 per cent, says Mayor Jeff Lehman.
"Basically, Barrie became a much safer place over the last 10 years,” Lehman wrote in an email to BarrieToday.
Given the severity of the opioid crisis in Barrie, considered one of Ontario’s worst, Lehman said it's that much more surprising that both the rate and the index dropped so much.
Of the 35 census metropolitan areas (CMAs) included in the study, Québec City had the lowest overall Crime Severity Index (CSI), at 42.1, followed by Saguenay, Que., at 43.9, Barrie at 44.9, Toronto at 46.2, Trois-Rivières, Que., at 47.7, Sherbrooke, Que., at 47.8, and Ottawa at 48.3
The country’s highest were measured in Lethbridge, Alta., at 138.7, Winnipeg at 116.3, and Kelowna, B.C., at 111.9.
The CSI measures the overall seriousness of crime from one year to the next by tracking both the prevalence of crime within a community, and the seriousness of the crimes committed.
Nationally, the overall CSI dropped 11 per cent over the past decade.
Decreases were reflected in many offences, predominantly in police-reported break-ins, thefts, robbery, and shoplifting.
The result was the first drop in the CSI for the first time after five years of increases and the largest year-over-year change in the non-violent CSI dating back to the first year the data was made available in 1998.
Barrie’s Violent CSI (VCSI) was 50, the country’s lowest, followed by Ottawa at 55.7, St. Catharines-Niagara at 56.6, and Québec City at 56.8.
“I believe that our efforts to address the root causes of crime at the community level have been successful,” said Lehman, a member of the city's police services board.
Barrie police has improved its clearance rate now in the 70 per cent range, up from the 50 per cent range, the mayor noted.
“It would be very interesting to identify which of these factors, or others, led to our success in reducing crime," he said.
In 2020, the cities with the highest VCSI were Winnipeg (154.8), Thunder Bay (152.5), Regina (127), and Saskatoon (119.9).
From 2005 to 2020, Thunder Bay, Winnipeg and Regina consistently reported among the highest VCSI values, with Thunder Bay and Winnipeg reporting among the three highest values every year for the past 10 years.
Meanwhile, the VCSI dropped in Barrie and Ottawa by 20 per cent. The largest drops were recorded in Moncton, N.B., by 25 per cent, and Belleville by 23 per cent.
The report indicated most of the decreases were driven by declines in robbery, sexual assault or homicide.
The largest increases in VCSI were reported in Guelph (26 per cent), Peterborough (23 per cent), and Sherbrooke (22 per cent).
Nationally, there were 743 homicides in 2020 and none in Barrie and Saguenay, Que. For the fifth consecutive year, Thunder Bay, with eight homicides, recorded the highest homicide rate among CMAs.
The analysis found the COVID-19 pandemic had a substantial impact on crime, particularly in its earlier months, reversing an upward trend at the start of the year showing a four per cent increase.
Overall, there was a drop of eight per cent in the CSI in 2020 across the country. Barrie and Ottawa had the third highest reduction at 16 per cent, after Regina (20 per cent) and Calgary (17 per cent).
Lehman said emerging crime trends, such as human trafficking as well as online crime and fraud, continue to require attention as well as new technologies and changing approaches to policing, along with community-based efforts.
