Date: Tuesday, July 22, 2025
Victoria, B.C. – Statistics Canada released Crime Severity Index (CSI) and Weighted Clearance Rate information for Canada today, with a national decrease in CSI of 4 per cent. In B.C., the CSI has decreased by 11 per cent.
In Victoria, the CSI decreased by 10.52 per cent, impacted primarily by a 17.54 per cent decrease in CSI-Nonviolent. This is the lowest CSI in Victoria since 2020.
In Esquimalt, the CSI increased by 3.23 per cent overall, impacted primarily by a 3.49 per cent increase in CSI-Violent.
“I am happy to see a decrease in the CSI in Victoria, in-line with what’s happening in the province and the rest of Canada,” said Chief Del Manak. “We’ve put a significant amount of effort into crime prevention and disrupting nonviolent crime, and I commend all of our officers, Reserves and Volunteers for this positive outcome.”
Victoria Police Department continues to have the highest CSI of municipal police departments in the province. Our downtown core sees a high level of activity, and this concentration of activity influences our overall crime statistics compared to other municipalities. However, other municipal CSIs incorporate a downtown core as well as surrounding neighbourhoods. A regional police service incorporating neighbouring jurisdictions with the downtown core would balance the CSI to be closer to the provincial average.
Crime incidents and crime rate information have also been updated. In Victoria, the crime rate decreased by 10.33 percent. In Esquimalt, the crime rate decreased by 6.54 per cent.
Victoria and Esquimalt-specific crime data will be updated in the Open VicPD Community Safety Report Cards.
You can view and compare all Stats Canada crime information at the following links:
Crime Severity Index, Weighted Clearance Rate, Crime Incidents and Crime Rate are all reported by jurisdiction. To find information specific to Esquimalt, use the subset ‘Esquimalt Division.’
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