The Lethbridge Police Service says crime continues to decrease in the city, highlighted by a 13 percent drop in the overall crime rate last year. “The overall message is positive,” said police chief Shahin Mehdizadeh. “Crime is down, more crimes are being solved and more offenders are being held accountable.” Mehdizadeh says the reduction in crime is part of intelligence-led policing using CompStat, targeted enforcement, crime prevention initiatives, community partnerships and collaborative approaches to public safety. “While the police service’s clearance rate increased by nearly four per cent, meaning more crimes were solved and more offenders were held accountable,” Mehdizadeh said. “We are continuing to focus on serious crime and the individuals who have the greatest impact on community safety.” While overall crime declined, the Crime Severity Index (CSI) increased by 1.87 per cent in 2025 compared to 2024. Statistics Canada released its report on police-reported crime statistics in Canada. In 2025, Lethbridge has a CSI score of 107.69, compared to 105.71 in 2024. That’s still a 16 per cent drop from where Lethbridge scored in 2023 at 129.67. While the score slightly increased, Mehdizadeh says that’s because more investigations were solved and charges laid. “This reflects increases in several higher-severity offence categories and does not mean more crime occurred overall,” he explained. “When we identify more offenders, detect more breaches, conduct more investigations and lay more charges, those activities contribute to CSI outcomes while simultaneously improving community safety.” Lethbridge Mayor Blaine Hyggen says the reduction in overall crime is positive for the entire community. “Public safety will always be our top priority,” Hyggen said. “There is still a lot of work to be done in Lethbridge … but even with the blip this year, we are pleased with the way we’ve been trending down.” Both the mayor and police chief highlight the federal Bill C-14 — Canada’s bail and sentencing reform act — that will have tougher sentences on repeat offenders as ways to help the crime trend continue in the right direction. “The city is much safer today versus six years ago, versus two years ago and we continuously do more efforts, more initiatives to make our city even safer,” Mehdizadeh said.
