The town of St. Paul tops the Alberta communities in the National Crime Severity Index and St. Paul’s mayor Maureen Miller says it is disappointing.
StatsCan looks through all the crime data of 2022 and creates the Crime Severity Index based on the population, prevalence, and seriousness of offenses. Miller says it is disappointing to see St Paul so high.
“You have to take into perspective what has complied to make that stat but it doesn’t necessarily mean that our community is unsafe or that incidents happen every day.”
Miller says she has a meeting with the Commanding officer in October to discuss options about how to lower the index.
St. Paul ranked first in Alberta with Bonnyville ranking as second. Elk Point, Cold Lake, and Lac La Biche all made the top ten as well. Miller says there are hidden gems in the index that can help the Lakeland become safer.
“I do use these stats to raise awareness of supports that are required. When there are programs or program opportunities we need to make sure we are at the forefront. We can not sleep on this information and need to use it for the betterment of the community.”
Nationally St. Paul ranks thirteenth.