New Westminster crime severity has reduced more than 16% over last year, according to data released by Statistics Canada today. The New Westminster Police Department highlighted this as a 6-year low. This is in contrast to recent media generated by the New West Progressives claiming “rampant crime and public disorder on our streets”.

The annual release of Crime Severity Index data shows significant decreases in New Westminster since last year, including overall crime down 16.9%, violent crime reduced 23.3%, and non-violent crime down 14.1%.

The Crime Severity Index is an area-based measure of police-reported crime that reflects the relative seriousness of individual offences and tracks changes in crime severity and to address limitations of the conventional Crime Rate. This means the overall seriousness and complexity of reported crimes has decreased. This is encouraging news because it suggests that while incidents may still occur, fewer involve violence or major offenses.

Most urban cities in Canada are facing impacts of homelessness and ongoing substance use and mental health challenges, and part of that is a natural discomfort with seeing people suffering on the street, however, the CSI data demonstrates that the visible suffering does not correlate to increased crime, and there is less high-impact crime on our streets now than even a decade ago.

It is concerning when New Westminster Progressive Councillors’ claims do not support the NWPD’s reported crime statistics. Instead of working with the NWPD to support community needs, Councillors Fontaine and Minhas chose to stoke fear and consistently vote against providing community resources.

At the same time, the New West Progressives’ damaging rhetoric hurts local businesses by deterring customers, investors, and tourists. The Downtown Business Improvement Association has implored New Westminster Progressive City Councillors Daniel Fontaine and Paul Minhas to stop with the “hyperbolic, frustrating, and deeply disappointing” narrative they are trying to create about our city.

Downtown businesses and residents, and those in our other commercial neighbourhoods, do not dismiss challenges facing urban communities today, or ignore the systemic issues behind them, but standing with your community means standing with all businesses, residents, and organizations seeking to improve conditions and find real solutions, grounded in reality and not framed by hyperbole.

Instead of working with the NWPD and organizations such as the Downtown BIA to support community needs, Councillors Fontaine and Minhas choose to stoke fear while consistently voting against providing community resources and real solutions.

The City's Crises Response Pilot Project is bringing resources, supported by the Federal Government, to support all people in our community- residents, business owners, and those suffering from a lack of social supports. These are resources that the New West Progressives voted against supporting, along with affordable housing and critical health care supports, choosing instead to blame out without offering any solutions. 

Everyone deserves to feel safe in public spaces, on our sidewalks and in our parks. This is not achieved with hyperbolic rhetoric and prurient reporting. It is not achieved when stoking public fear becomes a campaign strategy. It is achieved when we listen to public concerns and respond with concrete action; when we are factual and honest in talking to the community about fear and discomfort; and when we work together as a community to support one another and community partners in solutions. When we put the needs of the community first.