Halton Region continues to have the lowest Crime Severity Index (CSI) of all Canadian municipalities with a population of 100,000 or more. The Halton Regional Police Service (HRPS) also achieved an all-time high Weighted Clearance Rate (WCR) of 56.41 percent. This score is tops among Ontario’s "Big 12" police services.
Statistics Canada’s annual report on crime in Canada reported this data. The report provides a detailed overview of crime statistics as recorded by police services across the country.
Halton notable achievements
Maintained position of having the lowest Crime Severity Index (CSI)* of all Canadian municipalities with a population of 100,000 or more
Had an all-time high (for Halton) Weighted Clearance Rate (WCR)* with a value of 56.41 percent.
When compared to Ontario’s "Big 12" police services, Halton had:
- The lowest Crime Severity Index (CSI) (23 years in a row);
- The lowest Violent Crime Severity Index (23 years in a row);
- The lowest Non-Violent Crime Severity Index (23 years in a row);
- The lowest value WCR (7 years in a row);
- The lowest value Violent WCR (3 years in a row);
- The lowest value Non-violent WCR (7 years in a row).
Of note, Halton’s CSI ranking was 10th best out of 325 communities Canada-wide, and the HRPS was among the police services with the highest WCR. In both of these categories, Halton was surpassed only by police services in smaller communities.
Halton Regional Police Service Chief Stephen Tanner offered this statement: "It is incredible that the Region of Halton and the HRPS have maintained the lowest Crime Severity Index of all Canadian municipalities with a population over 100,000."
"However, I am particularly proud of the all-time high Weighted Clearance Rate achieved. This was done over a year of remarkable hardship in the face of a global pandemic. This is clearly a testament to the work of our officers and HRPS staff and to the support of the residents we serve."
"It is these partnerships and relationships, coupled with our ongoing commitment to community safety and well-being, that will keep Halton at the forefront of policing and as a leader in public safety in the years ahead. Once again, the professionalism, commitment, dedication and abilities of our frontline staff and teams have yielded nation-leading results in both the level of reported crime and solving those crimes that do occur - a record that we will strive to continually achieve for all we serve."
Halton Police Board Chair and Oakville Ward 5 Regional Councillor Jeff Knoll also offered: "As Chair of the Halton Police Board, I am incredibly proud of the sworn and civilian women and men of our service for the work that they do to keep our community safe."
"It is clear that the effort of the police service, in partnership with our residents, businesses, non-profit organizations and municipal governments, that we are able to achieve these tremendous results. These latest numbers provide clear evidence that when dedicated people work together, they can achieve great things and are another example of what makes Halton Region the best place in Canada to live, work, play and retire."
Canadian Crime Statistics Information
Each year, Statistics Canada reports on the number and type of criminal incidents coming to the attention of police. Police-reported crime has traditionally been expressed as a rate per 100,000 population, facilitating comparisons among geographic areas and over time.
The traditional "crime rate" provides information on the number of police-reported incidents that have occurred for a given population but does not provide information on the overall seriousness of crimes reported by police. For this reason, the Crime Severity Index (CSI) was developed.
CSI enables Canadians to track changes in the severity of police-reported crime from year to year. It does so by considering the difference in the volume of a particular offence and the relative seriousness of that crime compared to other crimes. The CSI helps answer such questions as:
- Is the crime coming to the attention of police more or less severe than before?
- Is a police-reported crime in a given city or province more or less severe than in Canada overall?
The Weighted Clearance Rate is the proportion of reported crimes solved by police, factoring in the seriousness of individual offences. The weighted clearance rate is based on the same principles as the Police Reported CSI, whereby more serious crimes are assigned a higher 'weight' than less serious offences.
For example, clearing homicides, robberies or break and enters would represent a greater contribution to the overall weighted clearance rate value than clearing minor theft, mischief or disturbing the peace.
For a more in-depth explanation of how these statistics are determined, please visit https://www.statcan.gc.ca/eng/subjects-start/crime_and_justice.
