If Canada's crime rate was a stock, investors would be peddling shares for pennies on the dollar.
The declining crime rate was particularly apparent in the District of North Vancouver, which proved to be the safest place on the North Shore and one of the safest municipalities in Canada.
Canada's violent crime severity index - which measures violent crime by both volume and brutality - plunged by 10 per cent in 2013 compared to 2012, according to Statistics Canada.
When ranked from worst to best according to the violent crime severity index, the District of North Vancouver finished 252 out of 304 Canadian municipalities. West Vancouver wasn't far behind, earning a ranking of 215. The City of North Vancouver brought up the rear at 172.
Canadian police departments reported approximately 384,000 violent incidents in 2013, down about 32,000 from 2012.
Canada's overall crime severity index dipped by nine per cent in 2013. The index - which includes all crimes but puts more weight on offences resulting in longer sentences - has tumbled for 10 straight years. The City of North Vancouver was slightly worse than the national average on the overall crime severity index. Out of 304 Canadian municipalities rated worst to best, the City of North Vancouver finished at 106. West Vancouver and
the District of North Vancouver's overall crime severity index were each substantially lower than the national average.
The City of North Vancouver scored worse than the national average on the non-violent crime severity index; earning a ranking of 80.
With the exception of a slight rise in non-violent crime in the City of North Vancouver, the North Shore's three major municipalities each witnessed a decline in their crime rates compared to 2012.
The trend toward safer cities is partially attributable to fewer incidents of breaking and entering and robbery, particularly in B.C. But while overall crime rates plunged, police saw more incidents of child pornography and sexual violations against children.
Those offences include luring a child via computer, which shot up by 30 per cent in 2013.
Incidents of extortion, aggravated assault and identity fraud also increased in 2013. The traditional crime rate - which does not differentiate based on the severity of offences - dipped by eight per cent in 2013, putting Canada's crime rate at its lowest level since 1969.
