From honeymoon destination hot spot to being dubbed one of the most romantic cities, Vernon made numerous top 10 lists last year.
One of those titles, however, has fallen by the wayside.
Maclean’s Magazine has released its Canada’s Most Dangerous Places 2019 rankings, in which Vernon fell to No. 24 in the all crime category with a crime severity index (CSI) from No. 9 and a CSI of 157 last year. The CSI, according to the magazine article, is a Statistics Canada measure of all police-reported crime, which takes into consideration both the volume and seriousness of offences.
Vernon is also a smaller city, and population size is a factor when determining rankings, Const. Kelly Brett with the local RCMP said of last year’s statistics. A single crime – either violent or non-violent – can have a more significant impact on crime severity rankings than it would in larger centres.
“Once again, due to Vernon’s relatively small population size, even one prolific offender can significantly impact the non-violent crime rating,” said Brett.
Related: Vernon one of Canada’s most dangerous places
“The Vernon RCMP remains committed to developing crime reduction strategies that identify and target known prolific offenders, and we will continue to work with our partners and the community to reduce all types of crime in Vernon.”
According to Maclean’s, the Canadian average CSI is 70.96.
Meanwhile, in the violent crime category, Vernon boasts a VCSI of 119 for No. 28 out of all 237 cities noted on the list.
Coldstream also saw a drop in the ranking to No. 201 with a CSI of 37 from No. 168 and 44.
North Battleford, Sask. continues to top the list with a CSI of 372, followed by Thompson, Man. at 333 and Wetaskiwin, Alta. at 258. Williams Lake is the highest ranking B.C. city at No. 7 with 219, down from last year’s No. 4 spot with a CSI of 222.
Other Okanagan communities include Penticton at No. 17, Kelowna at No. 39, Kamloops at No. 28, West Kelowna at No. 111, Lake Country at No. 157 and Salmon Arm at No. 178.
New to this year’s listing is the addition of the “five-year change in CSI” category, in which Vernon ranked No. 73.
See the full list online at macleans.ca.
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