Violent crime rate rises in Vancouver in 2019, but homicides fall by 33 percent

    1 of 1 2 of 1

      Vancouver police acknowledge that the number of violent crimes increased in 2019 over the previous year.

      But some of the most serious offences—homicide, sexual offences, and bank robberies were down.

      That's because assaults are the most common violent crimes, accounting for nearly four in five in Vancouver. And assaults were up 11.2 percent in Vancouver last year over the figure posted in 2018.

      Conversely, there were only 10 homicides in 2019, down from 15 in the previous year.

      The number of reported sexual offences fell 3.9 percent and the total number of sexual offences was down 14.2 percent, according to the VPD. 

      Bank robberies fell a whopping 41 percent—from 39 in 2018 to 23 in 2019.

      Property crime was up 5.2 percent on the year, driven in part by a spike in break-and-enter crimes at businesses. They rose 21 percent over the previous year, largely due to a rash of them in underground parkades and storage rooms.

      Theft from auto crimes were up 12.9 percent, whereas home break-ins fell by 10.5 percent.

      Comments