Photo: Darren Handschuh

According to Statistics Canada, Vernon is the ninth most dangerous city in Canada.

According to Statistics Canada, Vernon is the ninth most dangerous city in Canada.

The nation has a crime severity index of 70.96, but Vernon's index sits at 157.

Only Langley and Williams Lake score higher in British Columbia.

Penticton ranks 16th, Kelowna 34th and Kamloops 23rd.

According to a story in MacLeans Magazine, Vernon has an assault rate of 647.52 per 100,000 while the national average is 430.68.

Robbery is almost double the national average at 110.86 per 100,000 – the Canadian average is 60.09 - and fraud sits at more than double the national average at 670.19.

The Canadian average is 299.05.

However, breaking and entering was almost triple the national average of 438.51 at a whopping 1,234.57 per 100,000.

The report ranks communities according to the Crime Severity Index (CSI), a Statistics Canada measure of all police-reported crime, which takes into consideration both the volume and seriousness of offences. The 2016 data, the most current available, was released July 24, 2017.

Vernon RCMP spokesperson Const. Kelly Brett said many statistics do not accurately reflect the community.

Brett said while the annual crime severity report is based on police statistics, a number of factors can contribute positively, or negatively, including prolific offenders, serious offences (like attempt murder), and targeted enforcement by the police.

“Vernon is also a smaller city, and population size is a factor when determining rankings. A single crime - either violent or non-violent - can have a more significant impact on crime severity rankings than it would in larger centres,” said Brett.

“In 2016, Vernon experienced a number of violent incidents, including three where a firearm was discharged. These incidents, which were linked to the drug trade, would significantly impact the city's violent crime rating.”

Brett added for non-violent crime, the city experienced a spike in property-crime early in 2016, but targeted policing and pro-active initiatives resulted in the arrest of a number of prolific offenders.

“Once again, due to Vernon's relatively small population size even one prolific offender can significantly impact the non-violent crime rating,” she said.

“The Vernon RCMP remains committed to developing crime reduction strategies that identify and target known prolific offenders, and we will continue to work with our partners and the community to reduce all types of crime in Vernon.”