Brantford, Six Nations and the County of Brant ranked ninth in Canada on the crime severity index for 2009, according to numbers released by Statistics Canada on Tuesday.

Sandwiched between Vancouver, which ranked eighth, and Halifax, which ranked 10th, violent crime and total crime in the Brantford census metropolitan area increased slightly from 2008.

Perhaps the most shocking information for local residents in the Statistics Canada numbers is that Brant is now ranked first in auto thefts per capita across the nation, taking the title from Winnipeg.

“It’s been a problem,” said Larry Kings, vice-chair of the police services board. “The board has a strategy and has been working with Six Nations police and the county (OPP) to deal with the problem.”

Insp. Kent Pottruff of the Brantford police said, while citizens need not be alarmed by the city’s ninth-place ranking, Brantford does have its share of violent crime.

“Certainly we do have violent crime and any amount of violent crime is unacceptable,” Pottruff said. “We have big-city problems.”

Crimes used to measure the index include violent crimes such as homicide, sexual assault and robbery,  as well as break-ins, vehicle thefts, impaired driving, drug offences, extortion, firearms offences and criminal harassment.

Pottruff said the Brant area may be ranking high because of increased reporting of crimes.

“We do our best to encourage people to report crimes so that we know what’s going on,” Pottruff said. “It is a double-edged sword because, when you do that, your stats go up. The more enforcement we do and the more charges we lay, the more it’s going to affect our stats.”

Pottruff said that during the past few years Brantford police have done significant public outreach to promote reporting of crimes, especially auto theft and domestic violence.

Pottruff said citizens should keep in mind that the crime rate is applied per capita, so larger cities such as Toronto may rate lower because they are so densely populated.

Coun. John Bradford, who sits on the city’s violence, crime and weapons task force, said Brantford’s rating does not disturb him.

“We’re always more proactive as a municipality to ask people to go out in the community and recognize crime,” Bradford said. “I think it’s good it’s being reported because it’s something that can be addressed. If anything, I’d rather look at (ninth place) as a positive thing.”

According to Brantford police statistics, there were two charges laid for murder in 2009 and one this year.

There were 91 sexual offences and 433 other assaults in 2009, compared to 76 sexual offence charges and 427 other assaults up until May this year.

Drug and narcotic charges came in at 174 charges in 2009 and sat at 172 up until May this year.

Coun. Mark Littell, chair of the police services board, said he has confidence in Brantford police and their ability to keep city residents safe.

“I have every confidence in our police services,” Littell said. “I believe that our communities are safe communities.”

Across the country, the crime rate fell three per cent last year, more than 17 per cent lower than a decade ago, according to the statistics released Tuesday.

The drop was attributed to a continuing decline in property crimes.

– With files from Sean Allen