Crime overall down in Edmonton, but violent crime rises

Police say crime is down in the capital city.

The Edmonton Police Service said on Wednesday that police-reported crime was down 11 per cent in 2023.

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That is compared to the national rise of three per cent during the same time period.

According to EPS, Edmonton's decrease last year is one of the largest decreased crime rates in Canadian metropolitan cities.

Ron Anderson, EPS chief innovation and technology officer, said initiatives targeted at theft and social disorder are making a difference, with a 15 per cent drop in property crime.

Those include the community accelerator program, the safer public spaces initiative and the new provincial navigation centre.

"One of the primary drives of this … was a significant drop of 25.7 per cent in theft under $5,000 from a motor vehicle, specifically that would be catalytic converter thefts," Anderson said.

Of the top 10 crime categories for Edmonton, fraud was the only non-violent crime that increased (7.7 per cent).

"EPS is not alone in this statistic. Across Canada, and particularly since the pandemic, we've seen fraud and online frauds increase dramatically," Anderson said, adding that new initiatives are in the works to address the issue.

While the overall crime rate was down, violent crime rose two per cent and the severity of violent crime in Edmonton rose four per cent.

Anderson said those increases are related to repeat violent offenders and the increasing number of guns and weapons.

So far this year, EPS said preliminary numbers suggest overall crime and violent crime are down in 2024.