The Town of LaSalle has the lowest rate of crime severity in Ontario.
That's according to the annual Crime Severity Index (CSI) from Stats Canada, which provided rankings for all municipal law enforcement agencies in the province.
"Of the 43 municipal police services in Ontario, LaSalle ranked number one, with the lowest Crime Severity Index of 21.26, representing a 15.8 per cent decrease from the year prior," said LaSalle Police Chief Michael Pearce. "This is also significantly lower than the provincial average of 60.69. LaSalle also ranked number one within Windsor-Essex."
The CSI measures Criminal Code violations, including traffic, as well as drug violations, and all federal statutes. It also measures changes in the level of severity of crime in Canada from year to year, weighted based on the seriousness of the offence.
Two other Windsor-Essex municipalities also received low scores. The Municipality of Lakeshore's CSI is 26.96 for 2024, an eight per cent decline in crime severity.
In the Town of Tecumseh, the index was 29.67, an 11 per cent rise from 2023.
Meanwhile, Windsor police reported a decline in overall crime severity. The City of Windsor and Town of Amherstburg's rating was 80.32, an overall drop of five per cent from 2023.
"The decline in overall and non-violent crime is a positive sign that our prevention strategies are making an impact," said Windsor Police Deputy Chief of Operations Jason Crowley. "We remain focused on addressing the rise in violent crime, particularly intimate partner violence, to ensure everyone in Windsor and Amherstburg feels safe and supported."
The index showed a rise in violent crime of 3.1 per cent in Windsor and Amherstburg.
The CSI showed severity increases for Essex and Leamington. The Town of Essex reported a CSI of 57.21, which is an 80 per cent increase from 2023. Leamington showed a 60.3 index, up 7.7 per cent from the year before.
The Stats Canada report did not provide data for Kingsville or Pelee Island.
