That’s a bigger drop than the three per cent average decline in crimes reported across Canada.
The severity of crimes committed also dropped by two per cent in Greater Victoria and three per cent across Canada in the past year.
The national crime rate has followed a downward trend since peaking in 1991 and is now at its lowest level since 1972, StatsCan reported.
The majority of people are unaffected by crime and don’t notice its prevalence, Langford Mayor Stew Young said Thursday.
Still, a drop in the crime rate “is a good news story, absolutely,” Young said. “Generally, I think people feel very safe in Victoria, a lot safer than other areas.
“I travel a bit and I feel a lot safer in my hometown than anywhere.”
The presence of private security firms also dissuades would-be criminals, Young said.
Although there has been a trend toward a reduced crime rate and fewer severe crimes across the country, federal spending on criminal justice continues to rise.
Also, the Conservatives have introduced at least 30 bills designed to crack down on crime since Prime Minister Stephen Harper won power in 2006.
Per capita spending on criminal justice — including federal and provincial jails, court costs and policing — climbed 23 per cent over the last decade, the parliamentary budget office reported in March.
The report put the price tag at $20.3 billion in 2011-12, with roughly three-quarters of that total carried by the provinces and municipalities.
The StatsCan report said the drop in the crime rate is driven by decreases in common offences such as mischief, break and enter, disturbing the peace, motor vehicle theft and possession of stolen property, StatsCan said.
Kelowna, where the crime rate rose six per cent in 2012, earned the dubious distinction of having the highest crime rate in Canada. Toronto had the lowest crime rate among Canadian cities for the sixth consecutive year.
While the rate for violent crime has dropped, StatsCan reported an increase in cases of identity fraud, terrorism-related events and drug offences other than cannabis.
— With files from The Canadian Press
