The national crime rate did not change in 2016.
Statistics Canada reports there were nearly 1.9-million Criminal Code incidents, excluding traffic offences, reported by police last year, which is about 27-thousand, 700 more than in 2015.
But the severity of the crimes increased slightly for the second year in a row, largely driven by a continued increase in the rate of police-reported fraud, which was up by 14 per cent from 2015.
That includes identity fraud, which was up by 16 per cent, and identity theft, which was up by 21 per cent.
From 2015 to 2016, PEI’s crime rate fell by 3 – per cent, and was the lowest among the provinces in 2016.