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16 w = = a September 15, 2022 DAVID LEA 3 dlea@metroland.com Halton continues to be one of the safest communi- ties tolive in, according toa report by Statistics Cana- Fg On Tuesday, Aug. 2 Sta- Oakville Beaver | Thursd & a a 8 3 8 re: gS annual findings on police- reported crime, which showed that in 2021, Halton id the lowest Crime Se- verity Index (CSI) of all Ca- nadian municipalities with a population of 100,000 or more. measures changes i in othe level of se- verity of crime in Canada from year to year. In the index, all crimes are assigned weight based on their seriousness. Canada itself received a CSI of 73.7 per cent in 2021 while Halton got a CSI of 23.95 per cent. Ina more local compari- son to the police services of Tol on- don, York, Nagaa, Peel, , Greater Sudbury, Windsor, Waterloo and Ot- tawa, Halton had: + the lowest CSI at 23.95 per cent (Peel had the sec- ond lowest at 35.2 per cent); + the lowest Violent Crime Severity Index at 24.41 per cent (Peel had the second lowest at 49.55 per cent); ant +the Tost yt Violent Crime Sev 23.78 per cent eel had re second lowest at 29.96 per cent). This is the 24th year ina row that Halton has had the lowest CSI among the "Big 12" Ontario police services. “As chief of police, Iam so proud of the tremendous work that our 1,000-plus members do each and ev- ery day to protect and serve the Halton community," said Halton police Chief Stephen ‘Tanner. Statistics Canada's natior mal data affirms the positive impact of this work. Halton Region continues to r as the safest large munici- all of Canada. I wouldalso like to thank our residents who work hand- in-hand with our police ser- vice, assisting in the solv- ing of crimes and placing community safety as a top priority. These combined efforts continue to make Halton Region an enviable place to work, live and play." At the other end of the spectrum, Windsor had the highest CSI of the "Big 12" Ontario police services in 2021 with 94.88 per cent. Greater Sudbury had the highest Violent Crime Severity Index at 127.15 per $2,500 bonus for B license, $1,000 new hire bonus for G license At First Student, our integral part of the nmuniti shoo! Bus Drivers are an they serve. We are your friends, family, and neighbours! Competitive Pay + Flexible Hours + | workatfirst.com insidehalton.com We are proud to offer: Free aining «{) 905.335.7010 © FIRSTstudent qual opportunity employer that va cent while Windsor had the highest Non-Violent Crime Severity Index at 95.14 per cent. Crime in Halton actual- ly went up in 2021, with Sta- tistics Canada noting there were 12,593 incidents re- ported compared to 10,927 Violent crime in Halton, erity In- dex of 27.08 per cent i in 2020 to 24.41 per cent in 2021. Statistics Canada's re- port noted that whe! crimes did occur, there was a decent chance Halton po- lice would catch those re- sponsible. When compared to On- tario's "Big 12" police ser- vices, Halton had: + the highest weighted clearance rate in 2021 at 48.7 per cent (Greater Sud- bury had the second high- est at 44.66 per cent); + the highest violent crime weighted clearance rate in 2021 at 79.01 per cent (Windsor had the second highest at 76.45 per cent); and «the highest non-violent i learance rate in 2021 at 37.48 per cent am had the second highest at 36.40 per cent). The weighted clearance re is the proportion of re- ted crimes solved by po- ee, factoring in the seri. ousness of individual of- fences. iheser results clearly il- lustrate the alignment and apa effectiveness and ef- ficiency of our dedicated of- ficers and civilian staff," said Halton Police Board chair Jeff Knoll. "These results also re- flect the essential partner- ship between our commu- nity and its police service —these results can only be HALTON REMAINS ONE OF CANADA'S SAFEST COMMUNITIES possible with a supportive community engaged proac- tively in crime prevention and actively co-operating ice investigations and other activities. On be- halt ¢ of the pate Police yu and con- beaten to all the ded- icated and hard-working members of our police ser- vice and the entire commu- nity on this continued stal- wart success." Canada itself saw a one per cent increase in police- reported crime in 2021 with around two million Crimi- nal Code incidents taking place, 25,500 more than in 2020. Across the try, there were 788 homicides in 2021, 29 more than the pre- vious year. more information, visit https://www.stat- can.gc.ca/en/subjects- start/crime_and_justice. Join us Monday, September 26th, 11:30am-2:30pm to help us celebrate our new location with a FREE BBQ! LAKESHORE HEARING OPENING! PARAMEDICAL SERV (C’'ES 2317 Lakeshore Rd W, Oakville * 905-827-2902 WA WAWA tel. ceesare) ce) ets] eclantexe llores] mexey an}