Recently released police-reported crime numbers from Statistics Canada shows that the year-over-year crime rate in Abbotsford-Mission increased 11.27 per cent from 2022 to 2023.
Abbotsford-Mission also reported 15,601 actual incidents in 2023, which is the highest amount since 18,069 were recorded in 2008.
The crime rate per 100,000 people in the region finished at 7,340.61, which was the highest since 2019.
Abbotsford-Mission's Crime Severity Index number for 2023 was 107.6. The average rate for census metropolitan areas in Canada was 80. That number jumped up 15 per cent from 2022, which was tied with Toronto for the largest increase. Chilliwack and Drummondville, Que. were tied for first with both receiving a 17 per cent jump.
The CSI numbers measure both the volume and severity of crime. Stats Can officials caution that CSI is a composite index and not meant to be looked at "in isolation" and it's not a "universal indicator of community safety."
The 107.6 number places Abbotsford-Mission at 10th in Canada. Kamloops, Chilliwack and Red Deer were in the top three. Nanaimo (sixth) and Kelowna (seventh) were the other B.C. cities to crack the top 10.
The COVID-19 pandemic saw crime numbers drop across the board and 2023 marked a return to typical numbers.
One notable number was the total number of youth charged went down from 115 in 2022 to 84 in 2023. Outside of the pandemic years (2020 and 2021), the 2023 number of youth charged is the lowest in 22 years.
For more information, visit statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/240725/dq240725b-eng.htm.
