The Crime Severity Index was developed in 2009 as a complementary measure to the conventional crime rate.

Population counts used to calculate the CSI come from census statistics and have continually put certain communities at the top of the index, including Thompson.

On City Beat Thursday, Mayor Colleen Smook explained.

“Where it hurts is places like Thompson, North Battleford, Prince Albert, and Prince George, those of us that are hub communities and we actually serve a much larger than the 10 to 15 thousand population that we actually are.”  

Smook said that the reporting would only be accurate if they rated the city on the population it actually services, which is closer to 60-thousand, than the number who live in the city.

A recent change in the Crime Severity Index reporting no longer ranks communities, which Smook said is preferable.