When it comes to crime severity, Coaldale stands out as one of the safest among similar-sized municipalities, according to the Town’s 2023 Comparative Analysis. Coaldale’s average CSI score is 71 points lower than the group average of 52.4, as violent and non-violent crime have remained low.
From 2018 to 2022, Coaldale saw an average violent crime score of 41.8 and an average non-violent crime score of 56.7. According to Statistics Canada, CSI scores are based off the number of crimes reported by police in each jurisdiction, as well as the relative seriousness of those crimes.
The analysis is an annual report that compares Coaldale’s operational and financial performance to the operational and financial performances of eight other similarly-sized and/or neighbouring municipalities, which include Blackfalds, Drumheller, Edson, Innisfail, Lethbridge, Lethbridge County, Ponoka and Taber.
“In recent years, crime has become an area of significant interest to our community. Last year, we decided to add crime severity as a benchmark to the analysis,” says Cameron Mills, deputy CAO and director of Growth and Investment.
“Our thinking was by adding this benchmark, we’d be able to provide both current and prospective residents with a better understanding of where Coaldale sits relative to its peer and neighbouring municipalities in terms of the frequency and severity of crime, which we know can have a major impact on where people decide to live or buy property,” adds Mills.
Canada’s CSI score is always 100, which means municipalities with a CSI score of above 100 are less safe, while municipalities with a CSI score of below 100 are safer.
“To control for fluctuations in CSI scores, which can change significantly from one year to the next, we decided we’d calculate a five-year CSI score average for each municipality in the analysis,” explains Mills.
“What we found was over the last five years, both violent crime and non-violent crime in Coaldale have remained, on average, relatively low making it the safest community among both its neighbours and peers. With an average CSI score of 52.4, Coaldale ranks as the safest municipality its size in the province, the third safest municipality of its size in Western Canada and the sixth safest municipality of its size in the country,” notes Mills.
