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Increased crime in Calgary is more than just a statistic for store owner John Sanford, who needs surgery after he was pistol-whipped during an attempted robbery in January.

He says he still lives in fear of his store getting targeted for future robberies, and business is suffering as a result, too.

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“We’ve closed down our hours, so we’re down about 40 per cent (on sales) of what we were doing before,” said Sanford, co-owner of Rocky Mountain Pawn on 4108 Macleod Trail. “We used to be open late, and now we’re not anymore.”

Sanford’s comments come as information released by Statistics Canada Wednesday shows that a growing number of thefts — including robberies and stolen cars — have pushed Calgary’s Crime Severity Index (or CSI) to its highest level since 2009. The index measures the volume and severity of police-reported crime.

Calgary reported the largest increase in its CSI value last year, at 29 per cent, of any municipality across the country. Crime in the city had dropped for 11 consecutive years before jumping 29.4 per cent in 2015.

Calgary police chief Roger Chaffin attributed the crime numbers to a struggling provincial economy and the prevalence of highly addictive drugs such as fentanyl and methamphetamine.