Crime stats belie B.C. government’s ‘safer province’ claims

The Eby government claims to have a strong record on crime and safety. Nina Krieger, minister of public safety and solicitor general, recently cited new Statistics Canada data and said “B.C.’s Crime Severity Index is down for the second year in a row, nearly 12% lower than in 2023 and at its lowest level in years” due to “investments in enforcement and intervention by our government” that help “build a safer province.”

Yet in reality, the government has little reason to boast. While British Columbia’s Crime Severity Index—which measures the volume and seriousness of police-reported crime—is down year-over-year (by 1.6 per cent), the same data also show B.C.’s Violent Crime Severity Index was up 2.2 per cent versus 2024. When it comes to youth crime, both the overall Crime Severity Index and the Violent Crime Severity Index increased in 2025 relative to 2024.

The government also says B.C.’s Crime Severity Index fell to “its lowest level in years,” but it was 6.1 per cent higher in 2025 than in 2017, the year the NDP took office. Even worse, from 2017 to 2025, the province’s Violent Crime Severity Index increased by 31.7 per cent. Simply put, these are dismal results.

Early statistics for 2026 provide yet more evidence that the Eby government is not, as Krieger put it, helping “build a safer province.” B.C.’s two most populous cities (Vancouver and Surrey) both show worsening crime trends in 2026.

For example, according to the Vancouver Police Department, compared to the first half of 2025, this year the count of violent crime incidents increased by 6.0 per cent, property crime incidents (which include breaking and entering, theft of motor vehicles, theft, possession of stolen property, fraud, arson and mischief) increased by 4.3 per cent, and the count of total crime incidents increased by 4.4 per cent. And while the number of culpable homicides fell to five versus 16, the number of sexual offences, assaults and robberies are all up.

Meanwhile, Surrey Police report in the first half of 2026, the number of homicides increased to 13 versus four a year earlier. Total reported “persons crimes” in Surrey—which include homicides, shots fired, sexual assault or interference, assault, robbery, extortion and arson (disregard for human life)—are up a staggering 25.8 per cent year-over-year. Total property crimes have increased by 6.6 per cent and traffic offences (where a person has operated a motor vehicle while impaired) have increased by 8.4 per cent.

To be fair, the provincial government is not entirely to blame for these negative trends. Last fall, the City of Kelowna published a report highlighting the “urgent need for criminal justice reform,” particularly to fix lenient bail laws for repeat offenders. That’s the purview of the federal government, which apparently is considering bail reform.

According to the City of Kelowna report: “A small group of individuals, often struggling with addiction, mental health issues, and homelessness, are responsible for a disproportionate amount of property and violent crime; these offenders, too frequently, breach bail conditions and reoffend shortly after release; and the justice system is failing to deter or rehabilitate.” The report notes that in the past, federal bail reforms prioritized release over detention “even for chronic offenders.”

When it comes to crime and safety, neither the B.C. government nor the federal government have anything to boast about. Both have performed badly and British Columbians are less safe as a result.