Another national magazine survey is casting a negative light on Port Alberni.
Macleans Magazine released their list of the most dangerous cities in Canada yesterday, and Port Alberni is ranked 7th out of 229 cities for violent crimes, and 19th for overall crimes.
With 2 homicides. 32 sexual assaults, 12 robberies and 161 assaults in a city of almost 18,000 last year, Port Alberni is now worse than former crime capitals Regina and Surrey, but better than new title holders North Battleford, Saskatchewan and Thompson, Manitoba.
The report ranks communities according to the Crime Severity Index, which is a Statistics Canada measure of all police-reported crime that takes into consideration both the volume and the seriousness of the crime.
The list also breaks down 12 main types of crime, and Port Alberni is 4th for homicides, behind Courtenay in 3rd; 6th in sexual assaults; and 15th for youth crimes.
Other island cities that ranked high for overall crime rate were Victoria at 30th, Nanaimo 37th, and Campbell River and Courtenay at 44th and 45th respectively. The Kannebecasis Region in New Brunswick has the lowest overall crime rate of the list.