Crime increased in Lethbridge in 2023, according to police statistics

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Crime in Lethbridge increased last year, according to crime statistics, but the city’s police chief said Thursday that this follows three years of declining crime.

Crime violations in Lethbridge increased 6.7 percent in 2023, according to a report prepared for the city’s police commission meeting Wednesday. But crime had decreased in the previous three years: 6.5 percent in 2020, 3.9 percent in 2021 and 5.3 percent in 2022.

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“We saw a good trend for three years in a row, but it’s not necessarily going to be sustainable all the time,” Lethbridge Police Chief Shahin Mehdizadeh said during an interview Thursday.

He added that there is no reason for Lethbridge residents to “panic” about the 2023 crime numbers.

Numerous factors affect crime rates, including the drug and homelessness problems Lethbridge faces, Mehdizadeh said.

“When you have drug problems, naturally you’re going to increase crime, especially when it comes to crimes against people and crimes against property, because (drug users) need to steal to support their habit,” said the Lethbridge police chief. .

Last year, trafficking reports in Lethbridge increased 46.9 percent, to 232, and possession reports increased nearly 72.6 percent, to 837, according to the Lethbridge Police Service’s 2023 annual report. who also presented himself to Lethbridge police. commission on Wednesday.

“The community wants to do this, and we actively put projects in place to get these drugs off the streets, but every time you do it, it’s a type of crime that adds to our crime statistics,” Mehdizadeh said.

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Domestic violence and sexual assault rapes increased

Numerous types of crimes were committed against people in Lethbridge last year.

Domestic violence violations increased by 27 percent, to 2,225 incidents, and Lethbridge police especially saw an increase in domestic violence since COVID, Mehdizadeh said.

Sexual assault violations increased last year by nearly 20 percent, to 159.

“Any sexual assault is one too many, but the fact that people feel more comfortable coming forward is actually a good thing, because at least we better understand how some of our women are victimized and feel more comfortable coming forward.” Go ahead and report it,” the Lethbridge Police Chief said.

Assaults increased about 15 percent, to 1,633 incidents, and Mehdizadeh noted that most assaults are not random incidents.

“A significant majority of attacks occur within known parties,” he said.

Most property crimes are ‘crimes of opportunity’: Lethbridge police

There was one homicide in Lethbridge last year, down from two in 2022, and no attempted murders in 2023.

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Many types of property crimes, including arson and mischief, also increased last year, while shoplifting, vehicle theft and possession of stolen property decreased.

“In most property crimes, we’re still seeing a lot of crimes of opportunity,” such as people leaving their vehicles, residences, garages or sheds unlocked, Mehdizadeh said, adding that Lethbridge police continue to educate residents about how reduce the risk of being victims of these crimes. types of crimes.

The annual crime severity index has indicated that break-ins and fraud in Lethbridge remain a problem, Mehdizadeh said. Break-ins increased by 8.9 percent last year, to 1,051 violations, and fraud by more than 60 percent, to 1,592 violations.

Fraud is among the types of crimes significantly affected by a change in the way Lethbridge police have reported crime statistics in their annual report, to be consistent with the way crime data is reported to the province. Crime totals in the annual report were calculated at the violation level, rather than at the occurrence or incident level. Each incident can have one to many incidents, and each incident can have up to four violations, the report explains.

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“The best way to address crimes like fraud is through education, so that people don’t provide money or get scammed by (scammers) – most of them don’t even live in this country,” Mehdizadeh said.

Plans to add more police visibility to downtown Lethbridge

But many types of crimes are solved by Lethbridge police, he said.

“Our resolution rates are very decent,” Mehdizadeh said.

To begin addressing capacity and staffing challenges, the LPS hired 11 additional police officers last year, as well as 13 civilian employees. Between 2024 and 2026, Lethbridge police plan to graduate two classes of cadets per year to increase the number of officers.

“As we hire more, as more resources come to the front lines, we will release more senior officers to the downtown unit,” Mehdizadeh said, adding that Lethbridge police plan to add more police visibility downtown. .

Downtown Lethbridge has been identified as a crime hotspot in the city. In the city center, criminal offenses increased 10.8 percent in 2023. In December, mischief, thefts under $5,000, assaults, burglaries and shoplifting under $5,000 were the top five violations in the city center.

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