Every year, MacLean’s magazine releases a list of Canada’s Most Dangerous Places and this year, 20 out of the top 20 locations for all criminal activity are in Western Canada, with crime rates rising year over year in 18 of these townships and cities.
Below are the top ten locations for all crime, as well as break & enters and robbery.
Top Cities for All Crime
- North Battleford, Saskatchewan
- Thompson, Manitoba
- Quesnel, British Columbia
- Wetaskiwin, Alberta
- Potage la Prairie, Manitoba
- Prince Albert and area, Saskatchewan
- Williams Lake, British Columbia
- Selkirk, Manitoba
- Grande Prairie, Alberta
- Red Deer, Alberta
Top Cities for Break and Enters
- North Battleford, Saskatchewan
- Quesnel, British Columbia
- Potage la Prairie, Manitoba
- Prince Albert and area, Saskatchewan
- Wetaskiwin, Alberta
- Red Deer, Alberta
- Dawson Creek, British Columbia
- Penticton, British Columbia
- Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
- Port Alberni, British Columbia
Top Cities for Robbery
- Winnipeg, Manitoba
- Prince Albert and area, Saskatchewan
- North Battleford, Saskatchewan
- Thompson, Manitoba
- Wetaskiwin, Alberta
- Quesnel, British Columbia
- Williams Lake, British Columbia
- Thunder Bay and area, Ontario
- Langley, British Columbia
- Selkirk, Manitoba
And, with the article being released in November 2019, this is not considering the increase in crime that has been seen since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In Saskatchewan, authorities reported 18 break and enters between March 14 and 24. Between March 24 and 31? 41 break and enters. That is an increase of over 100%. In BC, commercial break and enters have increased by 46% (58 to 85) from the 4 weeks prior to strict distancing measures to the 4 weeks after.
If you were not considering your security strategy before, these stats will surely have you considering one now, regardless of whether the city you are in has made the top of Canada’s least safe locales.
Not only will it keep your property and valuable information protected when your place of business is unattended. It will help your staff feel safe when they return to work and work more effectively, knowing that there is a security system in place to watch over them. And, when you opt for a verified security system, you can feel confident that your place of business is being monitored 24/7 by trained professionals who will alert authorities as soon as something suspicious is detected.
Why Sonitrol?
At Sonitrol Western Canada, we offer verified security solutions that even professional criminals avoid. This is because they know the authenticity of a Sonitrol alarm is verified by live operators and trusted by authorities across North America, giving them little time to escape, if any, when the police respond to our alarms. Why? Because the average response time for a Sonitrol alarm is 3.5 minutes.
And, for those who are not aware of what the Sonitrol name represents and do attempt to commit a crime on your property, this response time, along with real-time updates from our security operators means there is a greater chance that the criminal will be apprehended. In fact, Sonitrol systems have led to the apprehension of more than 175,000 criminals across Sonitrol monitored sites.
To get your security audit today and find out how you can protect your business or organization, contact us today.
