The City of 91原创 crime rate was nearly double the B.C. average and almost three times the Canadian average in 2012, according to new police-reported figures released by Statistics Canada.

A Times comparison of the stats for the City with the Township of 91原创 and three other major B.C. communities (Surrey, Abbotsford and Vancouver) shows the City had the highest rates of violent crime and property crime last year, as well as the worst crime severity index and highest overall crime rate of the five.

Statistics Canada reported the City of 91原创 had a per capita crime rate of 14,546 incidents per 100,000 people, an adjusted number that is higher than the actual total of 4,104, but allows a proper comparison with the crime rates in other communities.

Those numbers mean a resident of 91原创 City was roughly twice as likely to experience crime than the B.C. average of 7,727 incidents per 100,000, and close to three times as likely than the Canadian average of 5,588 incidents per 100,000.

Residents of the City were also more likely to experience crime than residents of the neighbouring Township of 91原创 (7,514 per 100,000), Abbotsford (5,194), Surrey (9,439) and Vancouver (6,868).

The 91原创 City numbers are also substantially higher than the figures for Kelowna, which has been identified in some news reports as the community with the highest crime rate in Canada at 8,875 incidents per 100,000.

However, the Kelowna results were based on a preliminary release of the crime rates for census metropolitan areas that did not break down results for each individual city across Canada.

The rate of crime in 91原创 City was also rising while it was falling in most other communities, going up eight per cent in the City while the national rate fell three per cent and the provincial rate dropped two per cent.

91原创 also had the worst Crime Severity Index (CSI) rating of the five cities in The Times survey sample, roughly double the provincial figure.

The CSI is a measurement used by Statistics Canada to calculate the degree of serious crime in a community.

The City rate was 184, compared to 102 in the Township, 124 in Surrey, 100 in Vancouver, 71 in Abbotsford and the BC average of 93.

The City had a higher violent crime rate than the Township, but the Township posted the biggest year-to-year increase in violent crime at 12.46 per cent.

91原创 City鈥檚 violent crime rate rose 5.17 per cent.

The other three communities in The Times survey sample all experienced decreases.

The City had the worst property crime rate of the five (9,233), more than double the provincial average (4,711), and the problem was getting worse.

Property crime in the City rose 11.19 per cent in 2012, the biggest hike of the five.

The next highest increase in property crime was reported by Surrey at 2.49 per cent, which had the next highest property crime rate (6,149).

Abbotsford posted a decrease of 13 per cent.

Deputy 91原创 City mayor Gayle Martin said the situation is not as bad as it appears.

鈥淲e have our core enforcement team targeting the downtown core,鈥� Martin told The Times.

鈥淭hey are catching more people and arresting more people so it puts our crime stats up.鈥�

91原创 RCMP Insp. Murray Power called the statistics for the City 鈥渄isappointing鈥� but not surprising.

Insp. Power said the high crime rate is because of the high number of break-ins, some of which are recorded as violent crime even though no injury occurs.

City residents do not have to fear for their personal safety, Power said.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a safe city.鈥�

He said the force has been targeting criminal property theft in the City for a number of years.

鈥淲e鈥檙e maximizing all our investigative options to the fullest.鈥�

鈥� with files from Monique Tamminga

Crime Trend Numbers

Overall City of 91原创

crime rate (excluding traffic)

per 100,000 people: 14,546.11

City up 8.14 per cent

鈥� Violent crime up 5.17 per cent

鈥� Property crime up 11.19

per cent

鈥� CSI (Crime Severity Index)

183.86, up 7.95

Overall Township of 91原创

crime rate (excluding traffic)

per 100,000

people: 7,514.08

Township up 2.48 per cent

鈥� Violent crime up 12.46

鈥� Property crime up .75

鈥� CSI 102.32, up 4.78

Overall BC crime rate

(excluding traffic) per 100,000

people: 7,727.13

BC dropped 2.14 per cent

鈥� Violent crime down 5.5 per

cent

鈥� Property crime rate up .32

per cent

鈥� CSI  93.35, down 1.89

Overall Abbotsford crime rate

(excluding traffic) per 100,000

people: 5,194.25

Abbotsford down 12 per cent

鈥� Violent crime down 6.7 per

cent

鈥� Property crime down 13.04

per cent

鈥� CSI 71.21, down 9.71

Overall Vancouver crime rate

(excluding traffic) per 100,000

people: 6,867.78

Vancouver down 5.64

鈥� Violent crime down 9.78

鈥� Property crime up 1.97 cent

鈥� CSI 100.01, down 2.51

Overall Surrey municipal

crime rate (excluding traffic)

per 100,000 people: 9,439.00

Surrey down .84 per cent

鈥� Violent crime down 7.12

鈥� Property crime up 2.49

鈥� CSI of 123.85, down 3.33