Police-Reported Crime Jumps 8% In N.B.

New Brunswick saw the second-highest increase in police-reported crime last year, according to Statistics Canada.

A new report released on Tuesday showed there were 51,061 crimes reported by police in 2021.

That is up eight per cent year-over-year and 22 per cent over the past decade, according to the report.

StatCan noted an increase in sexual assault, sexual violations against children, and breaking and entering.

There were 747 sexual assaults reported to police in 2021, an increase of 22 per cent compared to 2022.

Incidences of breaking and entering jumped by 13 per cent year over year to 3,605 last year.

While total fraud increased by five per cent to 5,231 incidents, identity theft fell by 51 per cent to 402 incidents.

New Brunswick reported 11 homicides in 2021 (down 22 per cent), 15 instances of attempted murder (up 65 per cent), and 174 instances of major assault (up eight per cent).

Reported incidents of fraud and theft of $5,000 or under were also up, while instances of homicide, uttering threats and identity theft were down.

New Brunswick’s overall Crime Severity Index (CSI) increased by six by per cent to 88.5. That is above the national average, which held steady at 73.7.

According to StatCan, the index measures both the volume and severity of crime.

When broken down by census metropolitan area, the CSI increased by nine per cent in Moncton to 113.4 and fell by two per cent in Saint John to 51.1