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BANFF – Violent crime is up in the Banff townsite for 2024 but remains below pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels.
According to year-to-date statistics provided by the Banff RCMP, the 11 per cent increase in violent crime to about 190 offences from Jan. 1 to Oct. 31 has been primarily driven by an increase in uttering threats.
Staff Sgt. Mike Buxton-Carr, the detachment commander of Banff RCMP, said violent crime encompasses a broad range of offences from assaults, including sexual assaults, to holding people against their will to homicides.
“It’s all offences where violence is implied, so uttering threats to cause harm to a person are quite often a precursor to a violent act, often whether it’s domestic-related, co-workers or shared accommodation scenarios,” he said.
“As a relationship deteriorates that is sometimes a precursor to violence, and the ability to investigate that at the onset and intervene often tends to reduce the likelihood of actual physical violence occurring.”
The police-reported crime severity index for Banff shows a decline from 118.4 in 2022 to 65.2 in 2023, the latest information available from Statistics Canada.
The 2023 index continued the downward trend in crime severity in Banff since 2017. The exception was in 2022 when there were two murders in Banff. Top contributors to the 2023 crime severity index were in the categories of assault, sexual assault, break and enter, fraud, mischief, and drug trafficking.
The index is a summary measure of the volume and severity of police-reported crime in an area; however, Statistics Canada highlights it is not intended to be used in isolation and is not a universal indicator of community safety.
That said, Katherine Severson, director of protective services for the Town of Banff, said the statistics reflect the general perception communicated to the RCMP that Banff remains a safe and enjoyable community despite the influx of several thousand visitors per day in the busy summer season.
“I think the answer doesn’t go back to benchmarking statistics as much as it goes back to that visibility and feeling of presence of law enforcement,” Severson said.
“It speaks to seeing uniforms in the community, both when they’re seen in the Red Serge at public events all the way to the presence on Banff Avenue at nighttime when the drinking establishments are open.”
This year, property crime has also increased by 11 per cent compared to 2023. This increase is driven by the theft under $5,000 category. Property crime remains below the 2022 rate and is within the typical annual variance.
The police statistics show a continuing decline in disturbing the peace offences and late-night drunks since 2017.
RCMP say a combination of factors are likely driving the decline including cooperation between police and BarWatch personnel – a self-regulated association of bars and nightclubs that aims to create a safe place for patrons.
Buxton-Carr also points to police presence in peak season helping with deterrence and early intervention as a contributing factor, as well as the Town of Banff’s focus on family-friendly and family-oriented public events and a general decline of local liquor sales.
“I think the continued support for the summertime enhanced policing initiative is critical to this and a part of that decline is also the police detecting the events right at the chrysalis, and part of that is their proactive patrols, part of that is liaison with the BarWatch crowd,” he said.
“Before something really becomes a liquor act violation or a disturbance they can mitigate chances of that happening by steering people in the right direction. Of course, many of those disturbances then progress to violence if unchecked, so the earlier you can intervene, often the better.”
Police statistics also show that reportable motor vehicle collisions have declined by 22 percent; however this drop has been due mostly to the change in the reporting threshold, from $2,000 worth of damage to $5,000.
However, Buxton-Carr said the work of the Town of Banff to reduce speed limits to 30-km/h and transportation and pedestrian-focused initiatives are helping, too.
“Certainly those steps to address traffic flow, traffic speed and volume of traffic, in my opinion, have had an impact on road safety,” he said.
So far this year, the Banff RCMP detachment has participated in 45 community engagement sessions, varying in focus from targeted engagement on specific issues, education and awareness presentations, to informal ‘meet the police’ opportunities.
Cathy Ellis
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