Crime Severity Index, Statistics Canada
EDMONTON — Crime severity across Alberta RCMP jurisdictions fell more than 10 per cent last year, bringing the measure to its lowest level in more than a decade.
Statistics Canada’s police-reported crime statistics for 2025 show the Crime Severity Index fell 10.4 per cent across Alberta communities policed by the RCMP compared with 2024.
The index measures both the volume and seriousness of police-reported crime, assigning greater weight to more serious offences.
Alberta has 149 RCMP jurisdictions served by 113 detachments. The RCMP says 72 per cent of those jurisdictions recorded a decrease in their Crime Severity Index between 2024 and 2025.
The overall score across Alberta RCMP jurisdictions is now at its lowest level since 2014.
RCMP cautioned smaller communities can experience larger year-to-year fluctuations because a relatively small number of offences, particularly serious violent crimes, can significantly affect their scores.
However, police say substantial decreases were also recorded in many larger jurisdictions, where individual offences have less influence on the overall index.
Break and enters remain the largest contributor to the Crime Severity Index in Alberta RCMP jurisdictions, accounting for 15.4 per cent of the score.
Police say reported break and enters fell 19 per cent from 2024, representing 2,027 fewer incidents.
The 10 offences contributing most heavily to the index account for 74 per cent of crime measured across Alberta RCMP jurisdictions.
Two of those offences are violent crimes, assault and uttering threats. RCMP says both have remained relatively stable during the past five years, with roughly 20,000 assaults and 6,700 reports of uttering threats.
“We’re encouraged to see Crime Severity Index scores continuing to decline across Alberta,” said Supt. Mike McCauley, officer in charge of the Alberta RCMP’s Crime Reduction Strategy.
McCauley credited RCMP officers, other police agencies, community organizations, governments and residents for contributing to the decline.
Alberta RCMP says Crime Severity Index data is used to identify crime trends, vulnerable communities and priority offenders as part of its crime reduction strategy.
Police have also expanded the use of remotely piloted aircraft, improved the provincial Real Time Operations Centre and deployed Community Response Teams across rural Alberta.
The province provided an additional $2 million to the RCMP in May, with some of the funding going toward a new Rural Organized Crime Team.
The mobile unit focuses on gang activity and violence connected to drug and firearm offences. RCMP says the team can be deployed to communities experiencing high levels of crime, using intelligence and crime data to identify priority offenders.
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