The safety of an area is always top of mind when searching for a new home. Statistics Canada recently released their study on police-reported crimes in 2015. The 2015 report examines the Crime Severity Index (CSI), which measures the volume as well as the seriousness of each crime in comparison to others.

Crime rates in Canada have been falling for 25 years, but the costs of policing just keep on rising. Admittedly, crime rates have likely been falling in part because we're spending more -- especially when that extra spending means more officers on the streets. But part of the cost increases can be attributed to the fact that those officers are performing a growing number of tasks that have little to do with actual policing.

Canadian policing costs and staffing levels have grown over the past decade despite a dramatic fall in crime rates. Between 2001 and 2012, police officers per 100,000 of population in Canada rose nine per cent while the crime rate declined by 26 per cent. What does this mean for provinces and municipalities?

On Thursday, the House continues its debate on Bill C-37 -- the "victim surcharge bill" -- government legislation that doubles the amount of the victim surcharge -- money collected from convicted offenders to support victims of crime. Simply put, there is no evidence that the federal victim surcharge either deters crime as is, or that its doubling will do so.