In general, over the last several years, rural communities experienced higher rates of property crime than urban areas in Canada according to a new report from Statistics Canada.
“The police-reported crime rate in the provinces and the Crime Severity Index are consistently higher on a year-over-year basis in rural areas than in urban areas,” the report noted.
In 2023, for example, the police-reported crime rate was 34% higher in rural areas than in urban areas.
Similar to the overall crime rate and property crime, violent crime has also been consistently higher on a per capita basis in rural areas.
Particularly disturbing, the report additionally noted the rate of violent crime was more than three times higher for women and girls in the rural north.
That said, proportionally fewer violent crimes were committed by strangers in rural areas as compared to urban areas, where ‘stranger attacks’ have become an increasingly worrisome trend.
Concerning property crime, the rate of motor vehicle theft was also higher in urban areas than in rural areas in 2023.
“It’s scary to say the least,” said Tim Brodt, chairperson of the Saskatchewan Rural Crime Watch Association.
Brodt added that gangs and drugs are driving up crime in northern Saskatchewan.
“It’s gotten so bad that people are driving in the yards and shooting through the front door just as a warning shot to stay in the house,” he said.
“It’s a tough way to live all of a sudden.”