Oshawa ranked sixth as most “dangerous” city in Canada

Despite a “moderate” level of serious crime Oshawa has earned the dubious distinction as the sixth most dangerous city in Canada, according to report from a global data-gathering website.

Oshawa, which was cited in the report for being one of the country’s most “vibrant” cities, scored high in the survey for its “relatively high levels of vandalism and petty theft, often linked to drug use.”

The report from  Numbeo, which crowdsources information from surveys and compiles data on housing indicators, perceived crime rates, healthcare quality, transport quality and other statistics, parsed data from the Crime Severity Index, which measures police-reported crime in Canada and quantifies the relative number and severity of crimes in different parts of Canada, giving a severity-weighted statistic.

The results determined Surrey, B.C. (part of Greater Vancouver) to be the country’s most dangerous city due to a high rise in drug-related crimes, such as drug-related assaults, which have seen a marked increase in recent years.

Surrey was given an overall crime index of 63.8. It also very nearly cracked the top in the world in the study, coming in at #51.

Three more western cities took the second, third and fourth places, with Lethbridge, Alberta in second with a 62.3 score (drug-related issues related to the ongoing opioid crisis), Kelowna, B.C. in third at 61.6 (theft and vandalism) and Red Deer, Alberta in fourth with a crime index of 61.2.

Sudbury was the most dangerous city in Ontario according to the report at 60.7, with the study showing petty rimes on the decline but violent crimes on the rise, with the city recording the fourth-highest homicide rate in Canada.

Oshawa’s crime index was 59.8. Globally the city was ranked #84 for the world’s most dangerous cities.

Cities with scores between 40 to 60 are considered to have moderate crime levels, while crime rates between 60 and 80 are considered high. “Significantly high” crime levels are assigned to cities with scores of 80 and above.

Following Oshawa on the list is Sault Ste. Marie with a crime index of 59.2 (aggravated assault and theft and drug-related crimes) at #7 and Winnipeg (58.9) at number eight.

All eight cities also finished in the top 100 for the world’s most dangerous cities.

Each city also receives a ‘Safety Index,’ indicating how risky it is for visitors and locals. Oshawa held its position of sixth in the nation with a safety index score of 40.2.

It’s worth noting that even in Canada’s most dangerous cities the crime rate is still relatively low compared to other countries.

Caracas, the capital city of Venezuela, continues to be the most dangerous city in the world, earning its reputation due to high crime rates and low safety scores.

Following Caracas are three South African cities: Pretoria, Durban, and Johannesburg, that have been identified as extremely unsafe areas with safety scores of 19 or less. These cities are also known to have very high crime rates.