West Vancouver ranked one of Canada's 100 most dangerous places

Known for its beautiful scenery, quick access to nature, and high-priced, luxury housing, West Vancouver has now found itself on another dubious list, thanks to a new report by Maclean’s Magazine.

In its annual ranking of ‘Canada’s Most Dangerous Places 2019,’ West Vancouver, with a population of 51,076 according to the most recent census data, has found itself in the 57th spot.

According to Maclean’s, the annual report ranks communities according to the Crime Severity Index (CSI), a Statistics Canada measure of all police-reported crime, which takes into consideration both the volume and seriousness of offences.

The 2017 data, the most current available, was released July 23, 2018.

In its report, Maclean’s said the CSI was created “in an effort to paint a more accurate picture of crime levels than the crime rate can.”

For example, “a town that experienced a wave of vandalism and petty theft might have a higher crime rate than another town with more assaults and murders, even though the crimes committed in the second town were much more serious,” writes the magazine’s Claire Brownell.

While there were no homicides reported in West Vancouver, the reported assault rate translated into 184 per 100,000 people, and sexual assault rate of 27.41 per 100,000 people.

A total of six Lower Mainland cities cracked the top 100 list. These included:

• Abbotsford (34)
• Chilliwack (51)
• Vancouver (85)
• Pitt Meadows (94)
• City of North Vancouver (95)
• Maple Ridge (98)

Landing in the top spot this year was the town of Wetaskiwin, Alberta.

The top 20 most dangerous cities in this annual report are:

1. 1. Wetaskiwin, Alberta.
   2. Red Dee, Alberta
   3. Lethbridge, Alberta,
   4. Prince Albert, Saskatchewan
   5. Thompson, Manitoba
   6. Cold Lake, Alberta
   7. Courtenay, BC
   8. Whitecourt, Alberta
   9. Spruce Grove, Alberta
   10. Sylvan Lake, Alberta
   11. Pembroke, Ontario
   12. Stratford, Ontario
   13. Edmonton, Alberta
   14. Hinton, Alberta
   15. Lloydminster, Alberta
   16. Portage la Prairie, Manitoba
   17. North Battleford, Saskatchewan
   18. Cobourg, Ontario
   19. Penticton, BC
   20. Leduc, Alberta

These are Canada’s most dangerous places. Where does your community rank? https://t.co/MYh84O6iPb

— Maclean’s Magazine (@macleans) November 5, 2018

The full report can be viewed here.

See also

• West Vancouver approves citywide plan for 5,000 new homes
• Family of raccoons sneak in and cause chaos in West Vancouver home
• This Metro Vancouver mayoral race was won by just 21 votes