Cobourg’s 2022 Crime Severity Index ranking reflects trends seen by local police.
The Cobourg Police Service (CPS) continues to use available data to understand local crime trends and identify areas for proactive community engagement. In addition to local data on calls
for service, crime, and clearance rates, the 2022 Crime Severity Index (CSI) provides CPS with another tool to look at crime trends across Canada, Ontario, and locally.
Chief Paul VandeGraaf presented the 2022 Cobourg CSI to the Cobourg Police Services Board at this morning’s monthly meeting.
The CSI was designed to provide Canadians with a way to track changes in the severity of police-reported crime year to year. Statistics Canada releases the CSI annually (available back to 1998).
Each crime is assigned a weight dependent on the seriousness of the crime. For example, higher volume, less serious offences such as mischief or disturb the peace calls are given a lower weight than serious, less frequent crimes such as homicide. There are three main CSI categories: Overall CSI, Violent CSI, and Non-Violent CSI. You can access stats for all of Canada, a specific province/territory, or a jurisdiction. Participating police services (330) are ranked in the three categories. Ranking is from one (1), representing higher crime severity, to 330, representing the lowest crime severity.
In 2022, across Canada, the Overall CSI increased by 4% compared to 2021, the Violent CSI rose 5% in 2022, and the Non-Violent CSI increased by 4%. In Ontario, the Overall CSI increased by 4.1%, the Violent CSI increased by 6.7%, and the Non-Violent CSI increased by 2.6%.
In 2022, Cobourg ranked 140 in the Overall CSI compared to 126 in 2021. Cobourg’s ranking for violent crime increased (133 in 2022, compared to 191 in 2021), and the Non-Violent CSI decreased (142 in 2022 compared to 108 in 2021).
• Overall CSI has increased by 2.3% compared to 2021.
• Violent CSI has increased by 41.67% compared to 2021.
• Non-Violent CSI decreased by -11.04% compared to 2021.
Cobourg is trending upward in the Overall CSI and Violent CSI. The Non-Violent CSI is down.
In 2022, there was a decrease in the overall volume (4%) of violent crime. There was a significant increase in reports of harassing communications (+21), an increase in sexual offences (+7) and a decrease in reported assaults (-27). There was one homicide in Cobourg which impacted the violent crime for 2022.
Although non-violent crimes such as thefts from vehicles (66 in 2022), fraud (264 in 2022), mischief (150 in 2022) decreased in 2022, they continue to trend high. CPS continues to focus on increasing clearance rates and harnessing opportunities for crime prevention while working with the municipality, community partners, and the province to engage solutions to address community challenges.
“As we work towards our strategic objectives, we continue to take an evidence-based approach to crime and crime prevention while focusing on collaborative partnerships that address the challenges that impact the safety, health, and wellness of everyone in our community,” says Chief Paul VandeGraaf, Cobourg Police Service. “Public safety is our top priority, and we continue to track and analyze data through our Organizational Performance & Crime Analytics department to ensure resources are being deployed effectively.
The CSI provides additional information to help us plan how we mobilize our community policing model and leverage our tiered policing model to address safety in our community.”
Local crime statistics are available in the 2022 CPS Annual Report. Please visit cobourgpoliceservice.com/annual-reports/ for more information.
For more information on how CSI statistics are reported, please visit the Statistics Canada website. for more information.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
