Lethbridge police chief pushes back against report depicting city as having one of Canada’s highest property crime rates

Lethbridge's police chief says his members are making positive change in the city and a recent report on crime trends from an independent group is incorrect.

Lethbridge’s police chief says a new report issued by the Fraser Institute depicting the city as one of the top Canadian urban areas with the highest property crime rate is inaccurate and misleading.

The report used data from 2019 to 2022 and compared recent crime trends in Canadian and American urban areas.

But Chief Shahin Mehdizadeh said it’s nearly impossible to compare trends in Canada to ones south of the border and that more recent data is available.

Mehdizadeh referenced the crime severity index by statistics Canada and said crime in the city has decreased over recent years, with Lethbridge improving to fourth place on the index.

He said the report puts a negative light on the work being done by the service and its officers.

“I’m just very disappointed when the information is there that we can actually help researchers provide accurate information to the public when they push very dated information,” Mehdizadeh said.

“They’re trying to make it relevant to today’s status of the department, which is not a good thing,” he added, “and these are the stuff that makes our citizens feel uneasy and not feel safe -- but the truth is very different.”

The chief said ongoing targeted initiatives and enforcements are being done throughout the city to curb property crimes and other unwanted activity.