Reported crime, crime severity for area went down in 2023: Stats Canada

Individual incidents of crime and crime severity in Flin Flon and Creighton went down last year, according to recently released Statistics Canada data.

Out of northern Manitoba’s five largest communities, Flin Flon still has the least amount of crime and crime severity. Severity of crimes called in to RCMP in Creighton, covering both Creighton and Denare Beach, also went down, as did overall calls to police from both communities.

The information comes from a Statistics Canada release from last month. According to the data, over 2023, the Flin Flon RCMP detachment reported 1,694 incidents of crime in 2023, down from 1,757 in 2022. In Creighton and Denare Beach, total incidents reported to police went down in 2023, going from 677 between the communities in 2022 to 647.

Those calls have led to a crime severity index of 359.35 for Flin Flon and an index of 278.02 for Creighton. The index is lower than Flin Flon’s index in 2022 - that was 370.97, the highest total Flin Flon has had since data began being collected. The index is still higher than any other year in Statistics Canada records aside from 2022 for Flin Flon.

For Creighton, the index has dropped significantly from 2022, which had an index for the detachment of 406.48.

The data for overall calls and crime severity last year does not include Cranberry Portage and Snow Lake - police coverage for both communities was combined with that of Flin Flon’s RCMP detachment last year. Both communities saw changes in crime severity indexes last year - Snow Lake’s went up from 96.42 in 2022 to 107.65 in 2023, while Cranberry Portage’s dropped from 144.31 in 2022 to 133.69 in 2023.

Compared to the other four main communities in northern Manitoba by population, Flin Flon’s ranking is lowest for overall crime incidents and severity. Thompson, The Pas, Norway House and Cross Lake reported more instances of crime in 2023 than Flin Flon did, with Thompson, The Pas and Norway House each reporting more than twice as many incidents than were reported in Flin Flon.

Flin Flon also compares favourably on crime severity, with all four communities’ crime severity indexes higher than Flin Flon. Flin Flon is also the only one of the five that saw a decrease, though incidents in rural areas covered by The Pas RCMP did see a decline year-over-year.

When compared to similar communities size-wise from southern areas, Flin Flon doesn’t stack up as well. Saskatchewan communities like Melfort, Nipawin, Prince Albert, Yorkton and others each had lower crime severity indexes, as well as Manitoba communities like Dauphin, Morden and Virden.

The crime severity index is a number compiled by Statistics Canada, consisting of all Criminal Code violations ranging from traffic tickets to indictable offences like murder and assault. Every crime is assigned a weight based on severity, which is decided relative to typical punishments levied in court for those crimes - more severe the crime, the higher the weight.

As a smaller community, Flin Flon’s crime severity index can be skewed by one or two instances of major or particular violent crimes. In 2022, Flin Flon reported two homicides, both listed in the data as second-degree murder, while none were reported in the community in 2023. No other violations causing death, either through criminal negligence or other violations, were reported in either year, though attempted murder charges in Flin Flon went up from one in 2022 to four in 2023.

While most major crimes decreased from 2022 to 2023, aggravated assault charges may be responsible for keeping the rate high - 11 incidents were reported to police in 2023, versus five in 2022. Ten of the 11 aggravated assault charges called in to Flin Flon RCMP were cleared by police, with each ending in charges. Robbery offences also increased, going from 15 in 2022 to 34 in 2023.