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Crime in Canada

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Crime in Canada has experienced wide swings in prevalence throughout its history. Much study has been done of the comparative experience and policies of Canada with its southern neighbour the United States, and this is a topic of intense debate within Canada.

Under the Canadian constitution, the power to establish criminal law and rules of criminal procedure belongs to the federal government. The provinces are responsible for law enforcement (although provincial policing is in many jurisdictions is contracted to the federal and national Royal Canadian Mounted Police), and while the power to prosecute offences belongs to the federal government, responsibility for prosecutions is delegated to the provinces for most types of criminal offences. Punishment and the laws themselves are uniform throughout the country, but some provinces maintain different levels of enforcement.[citation needed]

Statistics Canada data

There were 2,452,787 crimes reported in 2006; 48% were property related crimes and 12.6% were violent crimes. At a rate of 7,518 reported incidents per 100,000 people, the crime rate in 2006, the latest year for which there is statistics, was the lowest crime rate in twenty-five years. [1] The crime rate has been in general decline since 1991.

The province with the lowest crime rate in 2006 was for the third straight year was Ontario with 5,689 per 100,000, followed by Quebec with 5909 per 100,000. The province with the highest crime rate for the 9th straight year was Saskatchewan with 13,711 per 100,000. Saskatoon is the city with the highest crime rate following by its provincial counterpart Regina. Quebec City, Trois-Rivières, and Saguenay have the lowest crime rates of any city and are all located in Quebec.[2] The three northern territories have higher crime rates per capita than any province.

Crime Statistics by Province and Territory

Crime statistics vary considerably through different parts of Canada. In general, the eastern provinces have the lowest violent crime rates while the Western provinces have higher rates and the territories higher still. Of the provinces, Saskatchewan has the highest violent crime rate.

2006 crime statistics for the provinces and territories are given below, as reported by Statistics Canada.[3]

Map of violent crime rates across Canada.
  < 800 per 100,000
  801-1000 per 100,000
  1001-1500 per 100,000
  1501-2000 per 100,000
  2001-3000 per 100,000
  3001-5000 per 100,000
  >5000 per 100,000
  Crimes rates by offences for each province and territory, 2006
  Canada N.L. P.E.I. N.S. N.B. Que. Ont. Man. Sask. Alta. B.C. Y.T. N.W.T. Nvt.
  rate per 100,000 population
All incidents 8,269 6,571 7,486 8,698 6,781 6,626 6,251 12,325 15,276 10,336 12,564 22,197 44,074 32,831
Criminal Code offences (excluding traffic offences) 7,519 6,055 6,793 8,069 6,111 5,909 5,689 11,679 13,711 9,523 11,365 20,593 41,468 31,265
Crimes of violence 951 851 714 1,135 849 756 756 1,598 2,039 1,101 1,218 3,007 6,448 6,764
Homicide 1.9 1.4 0.7 1.7 0.9 1.2 1.5 3.3 4.1 2.8 2.5 0.0 0.0 6.5
Attempted murder 2.6 1.0 0.7 3.0 1.2 3.3 2.5 2.2 4.7 2.3 2.1 0.0 0.0 13.0
Assaults (level 1 to 3) 735 734 625 919 706 540 563 1,243 1,671 888 980 2,655 5,834 5,893
Sexual assault 68 67 48 86 67 67 56 108 125 64 75 195 373 598
Other sexual offences 9 5 11 7 18 13 5 11 15 7 10 51 55 46
Robbery 94 23 17 85 30 91 87 182 150 93 110 58 36 39
Other crimes of violence 41 20 12 34 27 40 41 48 71 44 39 48 151 169
Property crimes 3,588 2,363 3,000 3,514 2,562 3,114 2,811 4,951 4,776 4,480 5,685 5,107 6,357 4,256
Breaking and entering 768 737 537 735 599 867 541 1,074 1,228 768 1,088 1,467 2,332 1,965
Motor vehicle theft 487 131 115 263 187 507 303 1,376 633 725 682 445 927 621
Theft over $5,000 52 15 31 44 38 65 44 49 42 66 58 61 65 36
Theft $5,000 and under 1,889 1,252 2,002 1,940 1,446 1,399 1,531 2,152 2,392 2,383 3,367 2,780 2,654 1,316
Possession of stolen goods 108 34 52 233 54 43 110 88 160 188 139 77 136 140
Frauds 284 195 263 299 239 234 283 214 320 350 351 279 244 179
Other Criminal Code offences 2,980 2,841 3,079 3,420 2,700 2,039 2,122 5,130 6,896 3,942 4,462 12,479 28,664 20,246
Criminal Code offences (traffic offences) 368 279 508 328 321 415 245 284 963 490 441 974 1,393 809
Impaired driving 228 221 396 255 242 214 139 213 474 347 340 701 1,168 686
Other c.c. traffic offences 140 59 112 74 79 201 106 71 489 144 101 272 225 124
Federal statutes 383 237 186 301 349 302 317 362 602 322 758 631 1,214 757
Drugs 295 128 127 218 248 266 239 183 275 258 617 468 769 673
Other federal statutes 88 109 59 83 102 36 79 179 327 64 141 163 444 85

Comparisons

United States

The rate of property crime in the US and Canada are roughly on par. However, historically, the violent crime rate in Canada has been lower than the US and this continues to be the case. For example, in 2000 the United States' rate for robberies was 65% higher, its rate for aggravated assault was more than double and its murder rate was triple. [4].

That said, in recent years the gap between in violent crime rates between the United States and Canada has been narrowed. In some cases the US has seen a reduction in the rate of some types of crimes and Canada has not. For example, while the aggravated assault declined for most of 1990s in the US and sat at 324 per 100,000 in 2000, the aggravated assault remained relatively steady throughout and sat at 143 per 100,000 in 2000. In other cases, the US saw a faster decline. For instance, whereas the murder rate in Canada declined by 36% between 1991 and 2004, the US murder rate declined by 44%. [5]

The homicide rate in Canada peaked in 1975 at 3.03 per 100,000 and has dropped since then; it reached lower peaks in 1985 (2.72) and 1991 (2.69). It reached a post 1970 low of 1.73 in 2003. The average murder rate between 1970 and 1976 was 2.52, between 1977 and 1983 it was 2.67, between 1984 and 1990 it was 2.41, between 1991 and 1997 it was 2.23 and between 1998 to 2004 it was 1.82. [6] The attempted homicide rate has fallen at a faster rate than the homicide rate. [7]

By comparison, the homicide rate in the US reached 10.1 per 100,000 in 1974, peaked in 1980 at 10.7 and reached a lower peak in 1991 (10.5). The murder rate dipped below 6 for the first time since 1966 in 2004. The average murder rate between 1970 and 1976 was 9.4, between 1977 and 1983 it was 9.6, between 1984 and 1990 it was 9, between 1991 and 1997 it was 9.2 and between 1998 and 2004 it was 6.3. [8]

Approximately 70% of the total murders in the US are committed with firearms, vs. about 30% in Canada[1].

Other countries (comparisons)

Canada's crime rate is close to the averages in Western Europe or Australia but with differences. Property crime is lower than in some nations (e.g., United Kingdom, Sweden), and significantly lower than Australia but higher than in others (e.g., Spain, France). The violent crime rate (i.e., murder, weapons offenses and rape) is higher than most western European nations, in some cases more than double and in the case of rapes, Canada has the 5th highest number of rapes per capita of any country, roughly 10x as many as the EU average. Reporting techniques differ which can affect proper data comparisons[9].

Guns

Main article: Gun politics in Canada

Only one third of Canadian murders involve firearms. Most Canadian weapons are rifles or shotguns owned by rural property owners, hunters and target shooters, and are less likely to be used in crimes. Many types of weapons are banned or restricted in Canada. The two biggest provinces, Ontario and Quebec have had a long history of strict gun controls. Most of the users of these illegal firearms are youth in their teens and early 20s.

It is effectively illegal to carry concealed handguns in Canada, Although there is permit that allows people to carry if they can prove they need to protect their lives but the permit is very rarely issued. Defensive use of firearms is uncommon in Canada.[10]

Canada has more guns and fewer controls on them than most nations in Western Europe (exceptions being Finland, Norway and Switzerland which have comparatively fewer restrictions) or Japan. Gun ownership rate is about 27% of households with great regional variations, rural much higher urban, west higher than east. Guns are also illegally brought into Canada.

Police

Main article: Law enforcement in Canada
Map of Police per 100,000 population across Canada.[11]
  < 176
  176-200
  201-300
  301-400
  > 400

In 2005 there were 61,050 police officers in Canada which equates to one police officer per 528.6 persons, but with significant regional variations.[12] Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island have the fewest police per capita with 664.9 persons per police officer in Newfoundland and 648.4 persons per officer in PEI. Conversely, the highest ratio of police to population is found in Canada's northern territories; Nunavut has 247.9 persons per police officer, the Northwest Territories has 248.5 persons per officer and the Yukon has 258.2 persons for each police officer.[13]

That is a substantially lower rate than most developed countries with only Japan and Sweden having so few police officers. The United States has one officer per 411.5 persons, and Germany 344.8. The comparative size of the police force has begun to become a political issue in Canada, with some communities demanding greater police protection.

Canada's national police force is the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) which is the main police force in Canada's north and rural areas outside of Quebec, Ontario, and Newfoundland. Those three provinces have their own provincial police forces although the RCMP still operate throughout rural Newfoundland and also provide specific federal policing services in Ontario and Quebec. Many cities and districts have their own municipal police forces, while others have contracts with the provincial police or RCMP to police their communities.

Punishment

There is controversy among criminologists over whether American harsh sentences are a cause or a reflection of higher crime rates. American sentences have been higher throughout the twentieth century, even during periods when the two country's crime rates were comparable.

Canada has comparatively low sentences for many crimes and most convicts receive parole after serving two thirds of their sentence[citation needed]. Canada also has abolished the death penalty since the 1970s. Sentences, especially for drug-related crimes are lower than sentences in the United States. Nowhere in Canada is there a law like California's "three strikes" policy. Canadian criminals are more likely to be given alternative sentences than jail times and more money is put into rehabilitation[citation needed]. Canada has a far lower percentage of its population in jail than the United States.

In addition, a less stringent approach to the punishment of some crimes, such as drug offenses, within Canada, may have the effect of skewing the data.

In 2001, Canada had about 32,000 people in prison or about 0.13% of the total population. The United States was the country with the highest number of people incarcerated. There were more than 2.2 million people living in jail (about 0.7% of the total population). The European average is of 0.2% of the total population, with France and Germany having lower rates than Canada, but with the United Kingdom, Spain and most of Eastern Europe having higher ones.

Racial factors

Although aboriginal persons make up 3.6% of Canada's population, they account for more than 20% of Canada's prison population. The prevalance of aboriginal persons incarcerated in Canada is thus 3x the number per capita of incarcerated African-Americans in the United States of America. [14]

Immigration and crime

The federal Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada department ran a program from 1999 to 2003 called Project Early Intervention that targeted children in a community "made up of recent Arabic and Somalian immigrants" "to increase participants' resiliency to risk factors related to criminal behaviour." [2]

In 2004, Canada established a national action plan, aimed in part at reducing violence, called A Canada Fit for Children which said "children of recent immigrants and refugee children are more likely to experience economic disadvantage with its associated risks."

Terrorist attacks in Canada have been plotted by both foreign-born (typically naturalized citizens) and Canadian-born people. Half of the 12 identified alleged terrorists in the 2006 Toronto terrorism case are foreign-born and the other half are Canadian-born.

See also

References

  1. ^ http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/85-002-XIE/85-002-XIE2007005.pdf
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference The Daily was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Canadian Crime Data 2006". Statistics Canada. Retrieved 2008-03-25.
  4. ^ Statistics Canada Daily
  5. ^ http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/glance/tables/hmrttab.htm
  6. ^ http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/85-002-XIE/85-002-XIE2006006.pdf
  7. ^ http://www.hamiltonpolice.on.ca/NR/rdonlyres/4B12A796-B0C9-436C-9F64-840D3EBEE09F/0/CrimeStatisticsinCanada2004.pdf
  8. ^ http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/glance/tables/hmrttab.htm
  9. ^ Bureau of Justice Statistics Cross-National Studies in Crime and Justice
  10. ^ http://teapot.usask.ca/cdn-firearms/Mauser/armed.def
  11. ^ "Police officers, by province and territory". Statistics Canada. Retrieved 2008-03-26.
  12. ^ "Police personnel". Statistics Canada. Retrieved 2006-10-09.
  13. ^ "Police officers, by province and territory". Statistics Canada. Retrieved 2006-10-09.
  14. ^ "Aboriginal people over-represented in Saskatchewan's prisons". Statistics Canada. Retrieved 2006-10-09.
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