Newfoundland and Labrador saw an increase in crime from 2020 to 2021, including a sharp increase in violent crime, according to Stats Canada’s Crime Severity Index, released this week.

For 2021, the index value for violent crime rose a staggering 19 per cent, while rates of non-violent crime also increased by just under four per cent.

In a bit of positive news, crime rates among young people decreased across the board.

The youth crime severity index dropped by nearly 14 per cent from 2020 to 2021. When broken down further, youth violent crime dropped by over 19 per cent, and non-violent crime dropped by over seven per cent.

The province as a whole saw an increase of over 9 percent to its index, the biggest increase out of any jurisdiction in Canada.

That said, while the province’s index value is higher than the national average, it is lower than values seen in the western part of the country.