LaSalle is the safest community in Canada but Windsor has taken a turn for the worse when it comes to crime.
LaSalle had its crime severity index drop by 10 per cent last year compared to the previous year, while Windsor had its crime severity index rise by 22 per cent in 2018, according to numbers released by Statistics Canada on Monday.
Breaking and entering, motor vehicle theft and fraud were important contributors to the increases for the Windsor Police Service, which also polices Amherstburg now. However, the increases were partially offset by a drop in robberies for 2018. A 21 per cent decline in robberies was reported by the StatsCan survey.
LaSalle police Constable Terry Seguin said LaSalle couldn't be this safe without the assistance of the amazing citizens and the hard-working officers.
"We work hard to make sure our citizens are safe and that they have a great place to live," said Seguin.
Seguin said this is quite an achievement for the entire community.
"For quite a number of years we have been able to keep our crime at a reasonable rate," he added.
Seguin said LaSalle police wish to thank the residents for their ongoing support.
"We couldn't do it without the assistance of our citizens and our community partners to help us along," Seguin said.
Statistics Canada also stated that the crime severity index for the Town of Essex stayed the same, while Lakeshore's went up 1.5 per cent, Kingsville's increased two per cent, Leamington's jumped 10 per cent, and Tecumseh's rose 14 per cent.
The Crime Severity Index is compiled using the uniform crime reporting data from all of the 321 police services across Canada. According to Statistics Canada, the Crime Severity Index tracks the changes in the severity of crime, and not just the volume. It is designed to measure changes in the overall seriousness of crime from one year to the next, as well as relative differences in the seriousness of crime across the country. It also measures both violent and non-violent crimes.