New data from Statistics Canada shows that the Town of LaSalle has the lowest Crime Severity Index out of Ontario municipal police services.
Of the 43 municipal police services in Ontario, LaSalle ranked #1, with the lowest CSI of 21.26, representing a 15.8 per cent decrease from the year prior.
LaSalle's chief of police, Michael Pearce, says he is pleased with the police-reported crime statistics for 2024 released last week by Stats Can.
"I would mention that this is just one indicator of crime, it shouldn't be used a single measure, but certainly knowing that the severity of crime in LaSalle is significantly lower than the rest of the province in Canada is good for us," Pearce said.
LaSalle's CSI is lower than the provincial average of 60.69. LaSalle also ranked #1 within Windsor-Essex - This does not include all municipalities policed by the OPP, just the ones in Essex County.
The CSI is 80.3 for the Windsor Police Service and 57.21 for Essex County OPP.
Pearce says there are a number of factors that go into crime severity, including issues that smaller municipalities aren't seeing on a large-scale.
"For example, things like drug addiction and homelessness, we don't see at the same frequency that larger municipalities see, and I don't want to state that those two things would contribute to crime, but we're not dealing with some of the more complex social issues to the same extend as larger municipalities," he said.
Pearce says in terms of crime, some of the issues that keep him and other police chiefs up at night are staffing, budget, and technology.
"The entire policing sector is struggling keep and retain talent," Pearce said.
"It's a sector that less people are interested in entering in comparison to a decade ago. I think we're starting to come out of that tunnel a little bit, and policing is seen more favourably as a career but I don't think we're totally there yet."
Pearce says the LaSalle Police Service has 45 sworn officers.
-With files from CTV Windsor