City crime rate drops yet again
By Lethbridge Herald on February 27, 2025.
Lethbridge Police Service members respond to a high risk incident Thursday afternoon at the 700 block of 27 street North. Police left the scene a short while later and no other information was made available.
Herald photo by Alejandra Pulido-GuzmanAlejandra Pulido-Guzman – LETHBRIDGE HERALD – apulido@lethbridgeherald.com
Crime is down 16 per cent across the city and 18 per cent in the city’s Crime Severity Index (CSI), the Lethbridge Police Service announced Thursday. It’s the lowest numbers since 2019.
Chief Shahin Mehdizadeh told reporters he’s proud of the results, which are due not only to policing but also to regular citizens helping reduce crimes of opportunity.
“It is amazing news for the city,” said Mehdizadeh. “As you all remember, we were No. 1 (in Canada) in the CSI list and had a bad reputation when it came to crime.”
The chief credited hard work by his department over the past few years to identify causation of crime and where the resources need to be deployed to best tackle it. The resulting decline, especially last year, is significant for the city and it is good news for all residents.
“It is not any one or two things that can be attributed to it,” said Mehdizadeh. “Crime is crime and sometimes it goes up and down, but on trend that we keep looking at is the trend over many years.” He explained that a single year of crime reduction can be an anomaly, but consistent year-over-year numbers indicate a trend.
“There are certainly a few things that can be attributed to this, with the number one being that we are more focused with the resources we have to deploy them when and where they are needed and targeting the more prolific offenders in the city.”
The chief praised the work by LPS’s analytical unit to provide the police with meaningful data to use when tackling crime.
“But what the analytics department does to provide information to us is only as good as what the officers do with that information,” he pointed out, “and I think that is the next significant thing that has been happening in this department.”
Cracking down and checking regularly on “prolific offenders” – those who frequently and repeatedly commit crimes – has yielded significant rewards as well, said Mehdizadeh.
“Every month those names may change, but these are the most prolific people that have conditions because of charges. And we have officers often go to do checks on them to make sure they are abiding by those conditions like curfew, no-go zones, contacts or anything else. And if they are in violation of any of their conditions, we hold them accountable.”
He said that on its own has translated into a significant reduction of crime. The more checks they do, the fewer crimes happen. On the other hand, when officers don’t have time to do those checks, they see crime go up as a result and therefore the CSI increases as well.
“We have an evidence-based approach in doing police work which has made the difference and has gotten the buy-in from front line officers who are actually doing the work everyday,” said Mehdizadeh.
As well, the number of crimes of opportunity in the city have dropped, due in large part to residents being more vigilant when it comes to their own property. Something as simple as remembering to lock your vehicle can have an impact.
“I feel our citizens have also had a significant contribution to driving crime in our city down, as it is not just our job but it’s everyone’s job,” said Mehdizadeh.
Analysis has been the key, said the chief. Knowing what works and what doesn’t helps drive the success of any police service, said the chief.
“Policing is all about being adaptable and agile to what is going on out there, so we continue doing that. But any new initiative that shows success is a reason to celebrate, but if we are not seeing success there is nothing lost, we tried it and then we can go try something different.”
He praised every member of the LPS, from the most senior leadership to the most junior person, for playing a role in reducing the numbers. He said a perception of safety has been on the rise as the crime rate has dropped, which was reflected in the 2024 LPS Community Survey, which shows 70 per cent of residents surveyed said they feel safer in their communities. That number was up from 65 per cent in 2023.
“If we drop crime and the perception of safety doesn’t improve, it’s not a good thing,” said Mehdizadeh. “And the fact that we saw an improvement from 65 to 70 per cent, is significant.”
He also believes the perception of safety has improved because more residents are going and enjoying what the city has to offer.
“Unfortunately…we are never going to have a crime-free city, but the more people actually get out there and enjoy the city, it’s certainly going to help in pushing the negative elements out.”
22-21
While this appears to be good news, one must wonder first, what is the clearance rate by charges and second, has the police service been relegated to baby sitters due to the ineffectiveness of the justice system and has the service just become another “social services” agency amongst the many?