Crime Severity Index increases for Nipawin in 2020

NIPAWIN, CARROT RIVER — The severity of crime in and around Nipawin increased in 2020, according to a Statistics Canada report.

Statistics Canada’s Crime Severity Index (CSI) was released July 27. It measures changes in the level of severity of crime in Canada from year to year. Crimes are assigned weights according to their “level of seriousness,” which is based on the severity of sentences for crimes.

The index includes all Criminal Code violations, including traffic and drug violations and all federal statutes.

Nipawin’s CSI score in 2020 was 158.95, compared to 147.24 in 2019 and 101.85 in 2018.

Out of 93 Saskatchewan policing districts that received a score in the report, Nipawin ranked 36th.

Police reported they dealt with 1,564 incidents in 2020. They dealt with 1,408 in 2019 and 1,097 in 2018.

Carrot River’s CSI score saw a decrease. In 2020, it was 136.33, compared to 159.15 in 2019 and 120.91 in 2018. Carrot River ranked 39th out of 93. Local police reported they dealt with 484 incidents in 2020, compared to 700 in 2019 and 694 in 2018.

Nearby, Tisdale received a score of 130.88 in 2020.

As a whole, Saskatchewan had a CSI score of 141.11 in 2020, a decrease from 2019’s score of 149.64.

The highest CSI in the province was seen in Black Lake, with a score of 1,153.72. The municipality with the highest score was North Battleford at 421.52.

However, data for detachment areas with relatively low populations “should be used with caution,” according to Statistics Canada. Low populations can explain, to some degree, why index scores can be high.