The crime rate in Grande Prairie has gone down for the first six months of the year.
Statistics Canada says the crime severity index has gone down for the first half of 2016 and in the Swan City, violent and non-violent crimes have decreased when compared to the same time period in 2015.
The City of Grande Prairie is attributing the trend to spending on RCMP officers and support. They designated over $1.7 million in last fall’s budget on 9 new RCMP officers and 5 municipal staff for the detachment.
According to Statistics Canada and the CSI, the Swan City was bumped into 6th place in 2015 from 8th in the 2014 index.
Alberta’s crime severity index jumped 18 per cent between 2014 and 2015.
Statistics Canada says this was the highest jump with Saskatchewan and Northwest Territories coming in second and third.
The percentage of violent crime was up as well with an increase from last year of 11 per cent.
Alberta doubled the other prairie province’s violent crime violations combined. Although, the province had a crime rate last year of 7,957 per 100,000 people which was beat out by Saskatchewan at 11,178 and Manitoba at 8,161.
The Index measures the volume and severity of police-reported crime. The numbers helped push the national index up 5 per cent.