Nanaimo ranks third-highest among Vancouver Island cities on Maclean’s magazine’s “most dangerous place to live” rankings.
In the national news magazine’s ranking of 229 communities with a population of 10,000 or more people, the City of Nanaimo comes in at 37th in Canada with a crime severity index of 112. The Canadian average is 70.96.
Maclean’s released its statistics compilation on Nov. 23. The rankings are based on public information released in July by Statistics Canada.
Nanaimo was exactly double the Canadian average in break-and-enters, with 877 incidents per 100,000 population, and was also 31 per cent higher than the Canadian average in impaired driving, 32 per cent higher than average in Youth Criminal Justice Act offences, 26 per cent higher than average in assaults and 33 per cent higher than average for fraud.
Nanaimo was 19 per cent lower than the Canadian average in sexual assaults, 23 per cent lower than average in firearms offences and 89 per cent lower than average in cannabis trafficking and production.
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Maclean’s based the rankings on specific crime statistics: homicide, assault and bodily harm, theft and property crime, drug offences and youth crime. The numbers were reported by various police forces in 2016.
Port Alberni was ranked the Island’s most dangerous city, 19th nationwide, and Victoria was 30th. Other Vancouver Island cities and their rankings: North Cowichan, 41st; Campbell River, 44th; Courtenay, 45th; Parksville, 64th; Sooke, 112th; Langford, 123rd; View Royal, 162nd; Saanich, 181st; Sidney, 184th; Central Saanich, 186th; Colwood, 191st; Oak Bay, 212th; Comox, 214th; North Saanich, 225th.
The least dangerous place on the list is Kennebecasis Region, N.B., with a crime severity index of 16. The most dangerous is North Battleford, Sask., with an index of 353. B.C.’s most dangerous place on the list is Williams Lake, ranked fourth overall.
In its reporting, Maclean’s states overall crime in Canada is at is second-lowest rate since 1998, as recorded by Statistics Canada.
-files from Steven Heywood and V.I. Free Daily/Black Press