Saskatchewan's crime rate top of Canada for 25th straight year: Stats Canada

Saskatchewan’s provincial crime rate ranked worst in the country for a 25th straight year in 2023, according to the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics.

Among the contributors are homicides, intimate partner violence, and assaults.

“Homicide rates are up,” Saskatchewan RCMP Criminal Operations Officer Chief Superintendent Ted Munro said at a media conference Friday. “When you look at the impact that has, not only on a victim’s family or the community, but on our police members.”

Roughly 2.5 million crimes were reported to police in 2023. Of those, 167,000 came from Saskatchewan, ranking the province sixth in the country.

When considering the rate per 100,000 people, Saskatchewan topped the charts at just under 14,000, which was more than double the Canadian average.

“Social issues like addictions, gang and the absence of community resources are some of the root causes of crime,” Sask. RCMP Commanding Officer and Assistant Commissioner Rhonda Blackmore said. “These are complex issues.”

The data shows homicide rates have increased 275 per cent over the past 10 years in the province.

There were eight homicide victims in 2014 and 30 last year, a rate of about 5.3 per 100,000, the majority coming in the province’s north district.

The north has just 27 per cent of the province’s population but accounted for 16 homicides last year.

Fifty-six per cent of all violent crime occurred in that same district.

“When you see crime rates rise in some communities, a lot of that has to do with proactive policing,” Munro explained. “We’ve been able to take [officers] where we have a spike and flood that area and focus on intelligence-led policing.”

The high rate of violent crime is also making an impact on dwindling RCMP member numbers.

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Assistant Commissioner Blackmore said these stats may be impacting officer retention.

“There is a lasting impact from the significant trauma,” she outlined. “Our highest community has a violent crime severity index of 3,775. The national average is 99.5.”

Despite the high rates of crime, the Mounties touted a high rate of case completion and arrests.

“Saskatchewan has the second highest clearance rate in the country, only behind Quebec,” Blackmore said. “That speaks to the dedication of these police officers and their commitment to these communities.”

In 2022, Saskatchewan saw the highest number of homicides ever with 43, in large part to the mass casualty event on the James Smith Cree Nation and village of Weldon, Sask.

To date in 2024, there have been 23 homicides, meaning the province is on pace to surpass the previous high.