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rfmcdonaldThe Canadian Press article summarizing the latest Statistics Canada crime report does a good job of summarizing the central points of said: not only are rates of reported crime lower than Canada than ever before in my lifetime, but the Toronto that is currently--rightly--concerned with gun crime has some of the lowest rates of crime in the country.
(Yes, it's possible that rates of crime are underreported now than in the 1970s. No, I don't think it likely, especially since stigma against reporting whole classes of crimes like sexual assaults has diminished sharply since that decade.)
Something substantial can be written about the extent to which the fear of crime, not the actual occurrence of crime, drives calls for policy changes like stiffer sentencing and the like. I don't know what I can say about that phenomenon other than to suggest that, maybe, societies where personal safety is increasingly assured are increasingly risk-intolerant.
A secondary point, about rates of crime being highest in western and northern Canada, where deep-rooted social issues relating to the terrible marginalization of First Nations peoples produces the kinds of dysfunctions which result in hikes of crime, has also been made, and is a phenomenon to which I can only speculate that things might well get worse out west.
(Yes, it's possible that rates of crime are underreported now than in the 1970s. No, I don't think it likely, especially since stigma against reporting whole classes of crimes like sexual assaults has diminished sharply since that decade.)
Something substantial can be written about the extent to which the fear of crime, not the actual occurrence of crime, drives calls for policy changes like stiffer sentencing and the like. I don't know what I can say about that phenomenon other than to suggest that, maybe, societies where personal safety is increasingly assured are increasingly risk-intolerant.
A secondary point, about rates of crime being highest in western and northern Canada, where deep-rooted social issues relating to the terrible marginalization of First Nations peoples produces the kinds of dysfunctions which result in hikes of crime, has also been made, and is a phenomenon to which I can only speculate that things might well get worse out west.
Police services reported nearly 2 million incidents last year, about 110,000 fewer than in 2010, the agency reported. And the severity of crime index — a tool used to measure the extent of serious crime in Canada — also declined by six per cent.
“Overall, this marked the eighth consecutive decrease in Canada’s crime rate,” the study said. “Since peaking in 1991, the crime rate has generally been decreasing, and is now at its lowest point since 1972.”
There was, however, a reported increase last year in homicide, sexual offences against children, impaired driving and most drug offences. In particular, there were 44 more homicides in Canada in 2011 than in 2010, bringing the total number to 598.
Statistics Canada said both the crime rate and the severity index declined or remained stable in regions throughout the country. Western provinces generally reported higher crime rates and crime severity than those in the east.
The volume and severity of police-reported crime were highest in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut and lowest in Ontario, where wounds are still raw in the wake of a rash of deadly shootings.
[. . .]
Statistics Canada reported decreases in several major crime categories, including attempted murder, major assaults, sexual assaults, robberies, break-ins and motor vehicle thefts.
[. . .]
The crime severity index, which was developed to address the issue of the overall crime rate being driven by high volumes of less serious crimes, is also falling.
“Since 2001, the (index) has declined in every province and territory with the exception of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut,” Statistics Canada said.
