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Crime decreased across the whole of Canada in 2024, including in both Regina and Saskatoon, according to the latest numbers from Statistics Canada.
While crime across the country decreased by four per cent, the crime rate for the Regina Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) decreased by seven per cent and the Crime Severity Index (CSI) rate decreased by 11 per cent from 2023 to 2024.
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Saskatoon’s CSI went down nearly nine per cent from 2023 to 106.7 in 2024.
The crime rate is measured by the amount of police-reported crimes in a CMA per 100,000 people, while CSI weighs more serious crimes (such as murder) against lesser offences.
To measure CSI, all crimes are assigned a weight based on their seriousness based on actual sentences handed down by the courts in all provinces and territories.
Regina finished ninth out of 41 CMAs in 2024 for total crime rate (7,503) and 10th in CSI rate (100.3). Saskatoon and Nanaimo were tied for seventh at 106.7.
Regina Acting Police Chief Lorilee Davies said she can remember the days when Regina used to rank first on these lists.
“It’s always interesting to see how you flesh out in comparison to other jurisdictions. So not really any surprises (for 2024),” she told reporters on Tuesday.
“When we’re not in the top five, that makes me happy. I always think that’s a good news story, but it doesn’t mean that we still don’t have work to do, because it would be great not to be in the top 20, in fact.”
In 2024, there was a decrease in both violent and non-violent crime, though Davies said RPS has little ability to control or prevent homicides.
“It is a little bit of a national trend to see some of those decreases, but I think some of the good things that we can point to in Regina are that higher visibility when we see officers out on the street — that tends to be a deterrent for crime,” Davies said.
“(There’s also) some really proactive work … we’ve had some really large drug busts with our drug unit, and so I think all of those things point to decreasing crime and then there are lots of those proactive preventative measures as well.”
Although crime was down in Regina, Saskatoon and in Canada generally, total crime severity for Saskatchewan has increased 23 per cent from 2014 to 2024.
The CSI was 159.3 for the province in 2024 — the highest among all provinces, with only the territories ranking higher.
As for Regina’s 2025 crime outlook, Davies said things are trending in a good direction, but arson continues to be a pressure point for police. Davies said all other crimes — from those against people to property offences — are trending down this year.
Davies said the force had noticed an uptick in shoplifting of goods worth $5,000 or under, which increased nationally by 14 per cent in 2024 (182,361 reports).
She said the increase likely had to do with the rising cost of living.
“I suppose it’s good to know it’s not just in Regina, and certainly there is a lot of collaborative work we can do to figure out what are best practices that are working in other jurisdictions so that we can get a handle on it,” she said.
“We can’t be a thriving community if our business community is suffering.”
Saskatoon Police Chief Cam McBride. (650 CKOM files)
A statement from the Saskatoon Police Service said it’s notable that property crime decreased in Saskatoon by nearly 15 per cent. Violent crime also increased marginally by 2.74 per cent.
Additionally, the percentage of successfully concluded cases in the city went up by 5.34 per cent.
“We’re seeing the results of targeted enforcement, investment in community-led initiatives, and strong collaboration with partners,” Saskatoon Police Chief Cam McBride said in the statement.
“A nearly nine per cent drop in our CSI and improved clearance rates show that our members are making a real difference.”
McBride said while there’s still more work for the police service to do, the statistics show meaningful progress.
— With files from 650 CKOM’s Mia Holowaychuk and CKOM News
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