Skip to content

North Saanich has good reason to feel safe

Port Alberni gets dubious honour of Island’s most dangerous place
9540250_web1_9517980_web1_171123-PNR-arrestfilephoto
Port Alberni and North Saanich are on the opposite ends of the Island scale when it comes to a serious crime survey compiled nationally by Maclean’s magazine. Peninsula News Review file

North Saanich is the least “most dangerous place to live” on Vancouver Island.

In Macleans Magazine’s recent ranking of 229 Canadian communities with a population of 10,000 or more people, the District of North Saanich comes in at 225th — in the bottom five places in Canada — with a crime severity index (CSI) of 23.

On the other end of the spectrum, Port Alberni was ranked as the Isand’s most dangerous, ranking 19th overall.

Victoria, is the most ‘crime-ridden’ community in the south Island and the second most on the Island.

The biggest communities north of the Malahat — Courtenay, Campbell River, North Cowichan and Nanaimo also cracked the top 50 of the country’s most dangerous

Oak Bay, Comox and North Saanich were ranked in the 20 safest.

Macleans released its statistics compilation on Nov. 23 based on public information released in July by Statistics Canada.

Macleans rates cities based on the Crime Severity Index, a Statistics Canada measure of police-reported crime that considers both volume and the severity of the crime.

The rankings are complied from specific crime statistics: homicide, assault and bodily harm, theft and property crime, drug offences and youth crime. The numbers were reported by various police forces in 2016. In its reporting, Macleans states overall crime in Canada is at is second lowest rate since 1998 — as recorded by Statistics Canada.

“Over the past decade the crime rate in Canada has plummeted by 25 per cent,” it reads. “Since 1998, the earliest data available, crime has been cut by a third. In 2016 the crime rate across the country sat at 5,904 incidents per 100,000 people—that’s the second lowest rate recorded by Statistics Canada.”

The report however comes with a proviso. The CSI has been trending upwards since touching a low of 66 in 2013

The least dangerous place to live in Canada is the Kennabecasis area of New Brunswick, with a CSI of 16. It’s followed by two Ontario communities – Northumberland (Hamilton), and Peterborough County (Selwyn).

Williams Lake was the most dangerous in B.C., with a CSI of 353, and ranked fourth overall.

The national mark is 70.96.

VI Free Daily

North Saanich is the least “most dangerous place to live” on Vancouver Island.

In Macleans Magazine’s recent ranking of 229 Canadian communities with a population of 10,000 or more people, the District of North Saanich comes in at 225th — in the bottom five places in Canada — with a crime severity index (CSI) of 23.

On the other end of the spectrum, Port Alberni was ranked as the Isand’s most dangerous, ranking 19th overall.

Victoria, is the most ‘crime-ridden’ community in the south Island and the second most on the Island.

The biggest communities north of the Malahat — Courtenay, Campbell River, North Cowichan and Nanaimo also cracked the top 50 of the country’s most dangerous

Oak Bay, Comox and North Saanich were ranked in the 20 safest.

Macleans released its statistics compilation on Nov. 23 based on public information released in July by Statistics Canada.

Macleans rates cities based on the Crime Severity Index, a Statistics Canada measure of police-reported crime that considers both volume and the severity of the crime.

The rankings are complied from specific crime statistics: homicide, assault and bodily harm, theft and property crime, drug offences and youth crime. The numbers were reported by various police forces in 2016. In its reporting, Macleans states overall crime in Canada is at is second lowest rate since 1998 — as recorded by Statistics Canada.

“Over the past decade the crime rate in Canada has plummeted by 25 per cent,” it reads. “Since 1998, the earliest data available, crime has been cut by a third. In 2016 the crime rate across the country sat at 5,904 incidents per 100,000 people—that’s the second lowest rate recorded by Statistics Canada.”

The report however comes with a proviso. The CSI has been trending upwards since touching a low of 66 in 2013

The least dangerous place to live in Canada is the Kennabecasis area of New Brunswick, with a CSI of 16. It’s followed by two Ontario communities – Northumberland (Hamilton), and Peterborough County (Selwyn).

Williams Lake was the most dangerous in B.C., with a CSI of 353, and ranked fourth overall.

The national mark is 70.96.