Keremeos and Osoyoos saw a small dip in the crime rate from 2018 to 2019.

Keremeos decreased by 5 per cent while Osoyoos dropped by 4.91 per cent. However, Oliver saw an increase of 8.24 per cent, between the two years.

Over the last five years, the crime rate in Keremeos has dropped each year except in 2018.

In 2015 there was a decrease of 15.25 per cent from 2014, in 2016 a drop of 18.63 per cent, in 2017 a decrease of .089 per cent and in 2018 seeing the first rise at 14.08 per cent.

The crime rate in Osoyoos decreased in four of the last five years.

In 2015 the crime rate decreased by 24.13 per cent compared to the previous year, in 2016 there was a decrease of 7.66 per cent. The crime rate increased by 48.28 per cent from 2016 to 2017, and by 16.67 per cent from 2017 to 2018 as well as 4.91 per cent from 2018 to 2019.

Oliver showed a different trend over the last five years, with only 2016, showing a decrease in the crime rate.

From 2014 to 2015 the crime rate rose by 6.64 per cent, decreasing in 2016 by 14.8 per cent, before rising in 2017 by 15.68, by 26.86 in 2018, and by 8.24 per cent in 2019.

READ MORE:Crime rate skyrockets in Penticton from 2018 to 2019

Throughout the three communities in the South Okanagan listed by Stats Canada, the violent crime rate saw an increase.

The violent crime rate increased in Keremeos between 2018 and 2019, rising from a rate of 1,460.88 per 100,000 population to 1632.74, from 73 incidents to 81.

In Osoyoos, it increased by 28 to 37 incidents from 2018 to 2019, and from 1,021.15 to 1,487.74 per 100,000 population, for an increase of 45.69 per cent.

Oliver saw the largest increase in the violent crime rate out of the three communities, increasing by 55.36 per cent from 1,937.62 to 3,010.23 per 100,000 population, and rising from 187 incidents to 300.

The violent crime category that Stats Canada uses includes crimes such as uttering threats, criminal harassment and forcible confinement.

The Crime Severity Index, which is based on all crimes including traffic violations and weighs each crime differently, also decreased in the South Okanagan Similkameen.

Keremeos was the only community of the three below the B.C. provincial average of 104.4 with an overall rating of 83.32. That decreased from 2018’s rating of 95.44.

Oliver and Osoyoos both saw a decrease in 2019, but remained above the provincial average, going from 147.35 to 144.39 and from 184.63 to 152.68 respectively.

To report a typo, email: editor@pentictonwesternnews.com.