Sudbury trails the pack for community safety: Report
Nickel City ranks 27th out of 34 urban centres in Canada when it comes to wellbeing and security, analysis finds
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Sudbury lags behind many other Canadian cities when it comes to community safety, according to a new report from a rental housing platform.
The Nickel City placed 27th out of 34 urban centres, with a score of 5.49 out of 10, in a Safest Cities in Canada study issued recently by Rentola.
Barrie ranked safest of all the cities analyzed, with a score of 7.13, while Winnipeg placed last, with an index value of 4.59.
“Safety and security are crucial elements for thriving communities in any country,” the search engine said in a release. “They foster trust, well-being, and a sense of belonging among residents. By prioritizing safety measures, such as well-equipped police forces, efficient emergency response systems, and community engagement initiatives, neighbourhoods become more resilient and enjoyable places to live.”
Rentola said the goal of its research was to “shed light on the safety of all Canadian metropolitan areas, from Vancouver to Toronto,” so that anyone considering a move (or even just a visit) could make an “informed decision” about which community to choose.
A number of factors were taken into account to assess the overall security and well-being of the communities, including crime rates and the percentage of crimes solved.
“Each indicator is carefully evaluated and assigned a weighting based on its impact on overall safety,” the company said, in explaining its methodology.
The organization drew on federal data measuring crime severity and violent crime, as well as non-violent crimes such as embezzlement and fraud.
The study also looked at the number of citizens per police officer in each community, and the success rate of apprehending and charging criminals.
Rentola took the latest data from Statistics Canada and then adapted it to a scale ranging from one to 10 (the latter representing the highest or best value), for ease of making comparisons.
To ensure accurate results, areas lacking data on any of the indicators were excluded from the analysis.
“Through a thorough examination of the presented data, a clear understanding emerges regarding the influence of each indicator on the overall security index of each metropolitan area,” the company said.
One indicator alone cannot paint a complete picture of safety, Rentola stressed.
Quebec City, for instance, had the lowest crime rate, but a significant number of its crimes were of a violent nature, and the ratio of its police force to its population remains relatively small.
“Therefore, when compared to Lethbridge, which possesses the highest crime index, Quebec City appears less secure,” the release notes.
The Quebec capital placed 11th in the rankings, while the Albertan city placed ninth.
Barrie boasted the lowest crime rate, although its proportion of violent crimes weakened its overall safety score. Still, it earned top spot in the study, in part due to its “remarkably high crime detection rate.”
The city on Lake Simcoe was closely followed by Brantford, Guelph and Toronto, for an all-Ontario Top Four, and four more cities in the Trillium Province — Belleville, Windsor, St. Catharines-Niagara and Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo — cracked the Top 10.
The other Top 10 finishers were St. John, N.B., and the aforementioned Lethbridge.
The placement of Sudbury in the Bottom 10 owes largely to a surge in violent crime — including an alarming uptick in homicides — over the past couple of years.
By late November of 2022 there had already been five murders, along with two cases of vehicular manslaughter. Then, in one week just prior to Christmas, three more people were killed in two separate incidents — a double slaying at the Travelodge Hotel on Paris Street, and a deadly altercation between two young men on Notre Dame Avenue.
Also in December, a Sudbury man was charged with manslaughter regarding the overdose death of another local man back in August.
The trend has continued this year, with a murder-suicide in Coniston and a killing at Overtime Sports Bar being just a couple of examples.
The slew of homicides in the past couple of years represents a huge jump from the single murder recorded in Sudbury in 2012, and in each of the following two years. The years 2017 and 2018 were similarly peaceful, with one murder each.
That number started to creep up in 2019, however, and by 2021 Sudbury had the fourth highest per-capita murder rate in the country, according to a Stats Can report.
“Any rise in violent crime is a concern,” said Mayor Paul Lefebvre in a statement provided to The Star earlier this year.
Lefebvre said he is focused on ensuring the city “remains a safe and healthy place to live, work and play – for all our citizens,” and will “continue to work with our community partners and other local organizations to ensure that crime prevention is a top priority.”
Rentola said its safety rankings can serve as a valuable reference, but should not be the only consideration when looking at places to settle or patronize.
“It’s advisable to take into account personal preferences, individual circumstances, and specific needs beyond safety alone,” the platform said. “It is always advisable to conduct further research and visit potential cities to assess factors such as lifestyle, employment opportunities, and cultural amenities that align with your personal requirements.”
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