OTTAWA — The national crime rate rose three per cent in 2015 — the first increase in 12 years.
There were almost 1.9 million Criminal Code incidents — excluding traffic offences — reported by police last year, about 70,000 more than in 2014, Statistics Canada said Wednesday.
While the per-capita crime rate grew in 2015, it has generally been on a downward trend since the early 1990s, with the only other increase reported in 2003, the agency said.
In addition, there were wide provincial differences, with the rate rising 12 per cent in Alberta, staying the same in Ontario and dropping 12 per cent in Prince Edward Island.
National rates of police-reported crime increased for most Criminal Code violations, including attempted murder, firearms offences, homicide, robbery and sexual assault.
Rates for all types of property crimes also increased from the previous year, including fraud, possession of stolen property, identify fraud, theft, and breaking and entering.
The national crime severity index, which measures the volume of reports and how serious they are, rose five per cent in 2015.
But the agency said that was still 31 per cent lower than a decade ago.
