What it measures
Dimension: Community safety
The Crime Severity Index (CSI) monitors the severity level of police-reported crime. The CSI measures the overall seriousness of crime from one year to the next by tracking both the prevalence of crime within a community, and the seriousness of the crimes committed. This provides a better understanding of the impact that crime has on individual community members, their families, and the community as a whole.
Why this matters
Research shows that higher levels of crime severity substantially reduce personal and community quality of life. As such, having a low CSI score is an indicator of community vitality.