According to Maclean’s Magazine, the City of Cold Lake is even more dangerous than last year.
The city was ranked sixth on the magazine’s list of “Canada’s Most Dangerous Places.” Their rank, which is out of 237 communities, is a jump from the city’s 21 spot last year.
The report looks at communities with a population of 10,000 or more, ranking them based on their Crime Severity Index (CSI).
A community’s CSI is created by Statistics Canada. They measure all police-reported crime, taking into account the volume and seriousness of the offences. This year’s list was compiled using data from 2017, the most recent information available. Maclean’s compared these stats to the numbers released in 2012, which has Cold Lake making the jump to the top 10 on this year’s list.
Cold Lake Mayor Craig Copeland noted the placing could seem dramatic, but it’s really the result of more charges being laid.
“I think we should take a step back. Maybe we’re seeing some really great police work in the area with the different RCMP, both in Cold Lake and Bonnyville, doing a great job of catching more criminals,” stressed Copeland.
According to the report, which claims the city has a population of 14,848, Cold Lake’s CSI for 2017 was 153, which is about 83 greater than the Canadian average. When it comes to the Violent Crime Severity Index, the city is sitting 61 higher than the national average of 136.
Copeland wasn’t surprised to see a hike in crime since 2012.
“It speaks to the fact that our area has been hit hard by the downturn in the economy. We’re seeing people pretty desperate to get money. Crime has increased during this period, and they were getting caught by the RCMP,” he explained.
While the city saw a jump compared to last year, it’s still well below the top ranking community of Wetaskiwin, AB. It had the fastest-growing crime CSI at 258, and a Violent Crime Severity of 301. Altogether, communities in Alberta made a number of appearances in the top ten.
“The fact that Alberta had seven of the top 10 places in Canada says a lot about the entire province,” expressed Bonnyville-Cold Lake MLA Scott Cyr, adding he was distressed and extremely disappointed to see Cold Lake’s place on the list.
Since 2012, Cold Lake saw a rise in fraud, cocaine trafficking and production, the trafficking and production of other drugs, breaking and entering, and homicide.
Cold Lake RCMP Sgt. Ryan Howrish noted the cocaine trafficking numbers in the report had a “huge impact” on the city’s CSI. According to Maclean’s, the municipality’s cocaine trafficking and production index is 10 times the national average of 19.73.
“This has a huge impact on the CSI and our standing amongst other communities. We believe this to be a result of the hard work of members of the Cold Lake detachment, and our focus on the illegal drug trade in our community,” Howrish detailed.
The city did see some decreases in certain areas. Since 2012, assaults, sexual assaults, firearm offences, robbery, impaired driving incidences, cannabis trafficking or production, and youth offences have decreased.
Cyr noted the decline was a result of the RCMP’s hard work “to achieve safety for our local residents.”
One aspect Copeland believes will assist in reducing criminal activities is the city’s addition of the Police Dog Service (PDS) Unit.
“I think you’re going to see some reduction in crime activity because, now with the police dog, I think that brings a different element,” he said.
As a resident of Cold Lake for the past six years, Howrish believes the area is a safe and beautiful place to live.
He said, “I haven’t seen a notable increase in crime. Statistically, the numbers of persons and property crime have remained relatively consistent over the past years.”
