New data from Statistics Canada has revealed that half of the 10 metropolitan areas with the highest crime rates are located in British Columbia.Topping the list were Kamloops and Chilliwack, with Nanaimo, Kelowna, and Abbotsford-Mission taking sixth, seventh, and 10th place.According to Statistics Canada, in 2023 Kamloops had a crime rate of 13,116 per 100,000 people and a CSI of 165.3, while in Chilliwack the crime rate was 11,615 per 100,000 people and the CSI was 156.2. Nanaimo, Kelowna, and Abbotsford-Mission had CSIs of 125.5, 118.6, and 107.6, respectively.The index is based on incidents listed in the Criminal Code, including traffic violations, as well as other federal statute violations. As the CBC reports, Kamloops RCMP Superintendent Jeff Pelley noted that violent crimes were not to blame for the city's high CSI. He argued that it was simply evidence of Kamloops' increasing growth, and "not a true reflection of our city being unsafe."In response to the revelations, the Ministry of Public Safety and the Solicitor General told the Western Standard that the province had been working to curb rising crime via initiatives such as the 2022 Safer Communities Action Plan, which will invest a total of $230 million over a period of three years largely on policing.The ministry also noted that the province was working to beef up resources to more adequately deal with mental health and addiction crises, and gang violence.In an interview with the Western Standard, BC Conservative MLA Elenore Sturko argued that Premier David Eby and the BC NDP were not doing enough to address crime, which has long been among residents' greatest concerns. "A lot of the focus that our premier tries to put is on the federal government," she said, "and while there is some more bail reform that we believe needs to be done at the federal level, it's important to recognize that the administration of justice is a provincial responsibility."Sturko highlighted the decriminalization of drugs as one of the government's biggest mistakes, pointing out that rampant public drug use had knock-on effects that made communities less safe."The NDP continued to go down this path, even though, from the outset, it was clear that there was problems with that," she said, "and we're still feeling the lingering impacts of that experiment, which is bubbling in the background. They didn't totally get rid of it, and, you know, I feel that that was actually very detrimental to British Columbia, and there's no doubt in my mind that, because they've kept it simmering and alive, that they will ramp up this experiment if they form the next government again."Sturko vowed that, if elected in October, the Conservatives would make addressing crime and public safety a "priority" by tackling the underlying issues of mental health and addiction, implementing policies that keep repeat offenders off the streets, and recruiting more law enforcement personnel.
