York Region had the fourth lowest crime severity index in Ontario among its provincial comparators in 2022, but saw the second highest increase in total crime severity index score and its 37.3 per cent violent crime severity index score increase brought it above 51 points for the first time in five years.
York’s 47.60 crime severity index score was the fourth lowest of its nine provincial comparators, however, it rose by 8.36 points from 2021.
The crime severity index was developed by Statistics Canada to measure changes in the level of severity of crime in Canada from year to year.
In the index, all crimes are assigned a weight based on their seriousness. The level of seriousness is based on actual sentences handed down by the courts in all provinces and territories.
In 2022, 45,713 total crimes took place in York Region with a crime rate of 3,688.2 per 100,000, an increase of 15.8 per cent from 2021.
York’s provincial comparators of Halton (31.04), Durham (44.11), and Peel (44.98) all had a lower crime severity index while Waterloo (79.12), Hamilton (64.98), Toronto (61.10) Niagara (56.87), and Ottawa (54.06) were all higher. The provincial crime severity index in 2022 was 58.47.
While York is lower than many provincial comparators, the region's crime severity index rose from from 39.24 in 2021 to 47.60 and is the highest it’s been over the last five years with a five-year average of 41.94.
York Region’s crime severity index score rose by the third highest per cent in 2022, behind only Peel and Halton among provincial comparators. The provincial average increased by just 4.1 per cent from 2021 to 2022 while York Region rose by 21.3 per cent.
The violent crime severity index in York also rose drastically from 46.68 in 2021 to 64.08 in 2022, a 17.4 point increase; the region’s five-year average is 49.58. That was the biggest increase among provincial comparators from 2021 to 2022. The province saw just a 4.86 point increase.
The non-violent crime severity index in York rose 13.2 per cent from 36.6 in 2021 to 41.42 in 2022. That was the fourth highest increase among its provincial comparators.
The biggest factor in the increase in York Region’s crime severity index has been robbery, said Sonia Tuling, a statistician with York Regional Police, particularly due to a spike in retail robbery and carjackings.
Tuling said there’s been about a 110 per cent increase in robberies from the previous year in York Region. Homicide has also increased by 80 per cent in York Region from 2021 to 2022, she said.
The biggest increase in non-violent crimes contributing to York Region’s crime severity index was a 49 per cent increase in motor vehicle theft and a 29 per cent increase with break and enter.
Compared to its national comparators with populations of over 700,000 — Calgary, Durham, Edmonton, Montreal, Ottawa, Peel, Toronto, and Winnipeg — York had the third highest crime severity index increase in 2022. However, its 47.60 score is still significantly below Canada’s 78.10, and its highest scoring national comparators Winnipeg (144.38) and Edmonton (110.65).
The region also saw the second highest violent crime severity index increase among national comparators behind only Winnipeg.
The top violent crime contributors to York Region’s 2022 crime severity index score were robbery, homicide, extortion, sexual assault, assault with weapon/causing bodily harm, and uttering threats. The top non-violent crime contributors were motor vehicle theft, break and enter, theft under $5,000, and weapon violations.
Doug James, an inspector in strategic services with York Regional Police, said that York Regional Police receive theft of gas reports, which is not consistent with other police agencies, and impacts the crime severity index.
James also said that the increased reports in York Region indicate that the community has a high level of trust with York Regional Police.
“York Region is still one of the safest communities in Canada,” he said. “We’ve taken great strides in building community trust and encourage the reporting of incidents to police.”
