Barrie and the surrounding area was one of the safest places to live in 2016, according to a new report from Statistics Canada.

In the annual Crime Severity Index report, the Barrie Census Metropolitan Area (BCMA), which consists of Barrie, Innisfil, and Springwater Township, placed second for the lowest amount of serious crime last year.

The BCMA was only beat out by Quebec City. Toronto rounded out the top three.

Numbers take into account crime data collected over the past year. Each region is given a score tallying the number of police reported crimes and the severity of the incident. The lower the score, the safer the region.

“The crime severity index is lower than the provincial average and that's a positive. That is also a direct result of our work with the community,” says Barrie police Const. Sarah Bamford. “The community involvement; we are so lucky to have such a pro-active community that works well hand in hand with the police.”

Barrie’s CSI score did rise five per cent in 2016 when compare to the previous year. The amount of violent crime was also up about 6 per cent, with that rise being attributed to an increase in robberies.

The report looks at 33 other census areas.