THUNDER BAY — The Thunder Bay area led the country's major population centres in 2021 in the incidence of crime involving violence.
Steep increases in the number of sexual assaults and robberies were big contributors.
The rate of sexual assaults rose by 48 per cent – to 142 per 100,000 people – giving Thunder Bay the worst rate among 35 urban areas.
The robbery rate rose by 44 per cent, leaving the city trailing only Winnipeg in that category.
Statistics Canada data shows the incidence of uttering threats also jumped in Thunder Bay last year, by 32 per cent.
According to the federal agency, Thunder Bay's Violent Crime Severity Index was 176, almost twice the national average of 92.5.
The index is a measure of violent crime weighted by the severity of the crime.
Violent crimes are those such as murder, sexual assault and assault, as well as crimes where there's a threat of violence such as robbery, harassment and extortion.
The city's VCSI was 156 in 2020, 147 in 2019, 164 in 2018, 143 in 2017, and 124 in 2016.
Winnipeg's Violent Crime Severity Index was the second highest in the country last year, followed by Regina.
The same three cities also led the country in 2021 in terms of homicide rates, but Regina had a slightly worse rate than Thunder Bay.
Winnipeg, Thunder Bay, and Regina – in that order – had the country's three highest Violent Crime Severity Indices in 2020 as well.
