Delta continues to be one of the safest communities in Metro Vancouver, according to the annual crime severity index (CSI) put out by Statistics Canada.
The CSI reflects the seriousness of individual crimes in a particular community. A higher score indicates a greater number and/or greater severity of serious crimes, and a low CSI rate generally indicates that a community is relatively safe.
Delta’s CSI rate for 2017 was 50.87, compared to 105.91 for Surrey and 78.11 for Richmond. This is a decrease from the Delta’s 2016 rate of 53.36.
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“Delta continues to see a consistent reduction in the crime severity index over the past decade,” DPD public affairs coordinator Cris Leykauf said in a press release. “It speaks to our partnership with the community and the commitment of our officers.
“So far in 2018, crime appears to be levelling off and as our CSI declines to historic lows, continued reductions will become more difficult. However, we will continue to work towards making Delta one of the safest city in Canada.”
This year’s improved CSI rate comes largely from a decrease in violent crimes in Delta. The index is broken down into violent and non-violent crimes, which are given their own rates.
For Delta, violent crime was highest in 2015, with a rate of 46.73, but has decreased by nearly 50 per cent over the last two years. Non-violent crime has actually increased since 2015, going from a rate of 56.40 in 2015 to 60.77 in 2017, though it did decrease 1.56 per cent from last year.
Moving forward, the Delta Police Department said that public engagement and police visibility will continue to be key parts of their strategy. Issues with property crime, traffic concerns and pedestrian safety (all of which fall within the non-violent CSI rate) will continue to be top of mind.
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