Despite seeing a downward trend in crime in Penticton, the city still has the highest rate and severity in the Okanagan, according to information released by StatsCan.
Published Tuesday, July 22, the report shows Penticton's crime rate dropped just by six per cent from 2023 to 2024, just one per cent less than the drop in crime across B.C.
The crime severity index, which adjusts the crime rate based on the severity of crimes such as weighting violent acts higher than non-violent crimes, saw a drop of 6.94 per cent in Penticton, far lower than the 11 per cent decrease province-wide from 2023 to 2024.
The crime rate, per capita, was at 17,044.34 for Penticton in 2024, higher than Â鶹AV's 10,959.03 or Vernon's 13,092.11 rates, the next highest in the valley.
In raw numbers, Penticton recorded 6,604 incidents in 2024, while Â鶹AV recorded 18,343 and Vernon 6,437.
Looking at the Crime Severity Index, which compares current statistics to a baseline average of score of 100, Penticton has hit its lowest level in the last five years with 166.51 in 2024.
The rate of crime over those five years has seen a matching drop, going from per capita rates of 20,746.02 in 2020 to 17,044.34 in 2024, or in raw numbers from 7,831 incidents in 2020 to 6,604 in 2024.
However, the clearance rate of cases has also dropped significantly, with the number of cleared cases, compared to open cases, reaching its lowest level in the last five years and beyond the relative drop in actual incidents.
According to StatsCan, the number of cleared cases went from 2,305 in 2020, or 29.4 per cent, to 1,684 in 2024, or 25.5 per cent.
In 2024, 431 of those cleared incidents ended with charges, with 400 people charged, and 1,253 were cleared otherwise according to StatsCan. An additional 283 incidents were deemed unfounded.
Nationally, the crime rate and severity index both decreased four percentage points in 2024 compared to 2023, but are still increased compared to a decade ago.
Since 2014, Canada's crime rate has increased 12 per cent, and the severity index increased 16 per cent.
