Take that, Macleans.
Prince George didn't deserve to be called Canada's number one city for serious crime and it certainly doesn't anymore.
Not with the release last week of a Statistics Canada report, showing that Prince George fell last year to 14th overall for violent crime, compared to seventh in 2010.
Prince George's crime numbers dropped off a cliff last year.
Total percentage reduction in crime in 2011 in Prince George: 11.1
Number of murders during 2010 in Prince George: 10
Number of murders during 2011 in Prince George: 1
Percentage decline in violent crime during 2011: 19.6
Percentage decline in assaults with a weapon during 2011: 24.4
Percentage decline in robberies during 2011: 17.5
Percentage decline in criminal harassment during 2011: 34.2
Percentage decline in sexual assault during 2011: 4.8
Percentage decline in non-violent crime during 2011: 7.4
Percentage decline in thefts of $5,000 or more: 13.4
Percentage decline in break and enters: 15.9
The only numbers that went up were common assaults, which increased by 6.2 per cent last year, and an alarming 55 per cent increase in total sexual violations against children but that number needs context. In 2011, there were 20 of those crimes, compared to 13 the year before. One is too high a number for crimes in that category but there isn't an epidemic of those offenses, either, for a city this size.
The overall crime trend is heading down in Prince George and that's a good news story all day long. In the broader context, crime is down across Canada.
"Looking at your numbers, you've seen a larger decrease than across the country but previously Prince George had been higher than the Canadian average so you're coming more in line with that," said Warren Silver, an analyst for the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, which carried out the study. He noted a six per cent decrease in crime severity across the country.
The bigger discussion that should emerge from those numbers are what to do about them.
Since the amount of crime is down, should city council cut the policing budget as part of its core review process? It's never made much sense why Mayor Sheri Green and other cost-conscious councillors insisted the city needed a core review but refused to allow the substantial police and fire department budgets to go under the microscope.
How much more would the amount of crime have to fall in Prince George before mayor and council entertain reducing the police budget? 10 per cent? 50 per cent?
On the flip side, is the falling crime rate due to the greater police presence and the focus on repeat offenders and organized crime?
The RCMP can't take full credit, locally or nationally, for those declining crime numbers. Crime has been falling across Canada for the last 40 years, although it remains higher in Western Canada than Eastern Canada.
In the last 40 years, the Canadian population has become significantly older, better educated and more affluent, three criteria that have had as much or more to do with reducing crime than spending more money on cops. Police presence is just one of a series of necessary factors to reduce crime.
To be fair, local police officers are kept busy and often carry a higher case load compared to their colleagues in other areas. The price of being a regional centre is also being a regional centre for crime, so Prince George's crime numbers don't look as good as other Canadian cities of similar size because of the city's hub role in northern B.C.
While residents should be proud of those declining crime numbers, those stats should be motivation for a greater effort to reduce crime levels even more. Less crime encourages population growth, business activity, resident recruitment and retention, civic pride and community engagement.
That kind of activity is good for everyone.
- Managing editor, Neil Godbout
