Crime severity drops in Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam; Port Moody bucks downward trend

The Tri-Cities are a lot safer than they were in the 1990s and – with the exception of Port Moody – a little safer than they were a few years ago, according to recently released data from Statistics Canada.

Coquitlam

After two years of relative consistency, Coquitlam’s crime severity index fell by more than 15 percent in 2024 – the largest drop in the Tri-Cities.

The city finished 2024 with a crime severity index of 55.2 – the second lowest rate in the last 27 years. Coquitlam’s crime severity index dipped to 54 in 2018.

There were 7,857 incidents reported by police in 2024. That figure is up 13 from 2023 but slightly down from the previous three years.

The number of police incidents per 100,000 residents dipped to 4,507 last year – the lowest total in the last five years. The rate was 5,153 per 100,000 in 2020.

There were 15 percent drops in both violent and non-violent crime in 2024 – bringing the non-violent crime index to its lowest level since the data was compiled in 1998.

Port Coquitlam

Port Coquitlam’s crime severity index dropped 12.8 percent in 2024, bringing the index to 57.4 – the city’s lowest level since the data was recorded in 1998.

The city between rails and rivers recorded drops in both violent and non-violent crime in 2024.

Police reported 3,202 incidents in 2024 – 470 fewer than 2023 and a drop of more than 1,000 compared to 2020.

The rate of incidents per 100,000 residents dropped to 4,620 – more than 800 fewer than the year before. The rate was 6,649 per 100,000 residents in 2020.

The violent crime index of 50.9 is consistent with recent years, with the exception of a spike in 2022.

Port Moody

While still safer than its neighbours, Port Moody drifted in the opposite direction.

After several years of consistency, the crime severity index ticked up by nine percent in Port Moody in 2024, rising to 45.3 – the highest rate since 2016.

Police reported 1,260 incidents in 2024 – 74 more than the year before and more than in any of the previous five years.

The violent crime severity index reached 51.3, nearly double the rate from 2022.

Non-violent crime was virtually unchanged, rising by 0.6 percent from 2023

The increase is due to sharp uptick in violent crime – which includes a range of offences including uttering threats and forcible confinement.

The rate of police incidents per 100,000 residents has ticked slightly upward for the last three years, rising from 2,983 in 2021 to 3,235 in 2024.

Overall, the index has generally been declining since 1998, when the crime severity index hit 110.8.

The crime severity index weighs different crimes based on their relative seriousness to calculate a crime rate per 100,000 residents. Seriousness is derived from sentences handed down by the courts. When the system was first devised, a murder was judged 1,000 times more serious than marijuana possession. The rates are adjusted every five years.

Offences like homicides and robberies carry greater weight than crimes like theft or mischief.

Crime severity index and number of police incidents in other municipalities

• City of North Vancouver: 80.0 (4,643 incidents)
• Delta: 55.3 (5,300 incidents)
• New Westminster: 79.5 (6,008 incidents)
• Vancouver: 92.9
• Burnaby: 67.5 (17,975)
• Surrey: 86.5 (40,777 incidents)
• District of North Vancouver: 34.4 (3,354)
• Maple Ridge: 81.1 (7,289)

Across the province, police reported 426,806 incidents in 2024 – more than 15,000 fewer than in 2023.

B.C.’s crime rate per 100,000 people was down 6.2 percent in 2024.