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Canada's Murder Rate Fell to Lowest in Three Decades in 2003
Sept. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Canada's homicide rate fell to a three-decade low last year, as fewer people were murdered in the entire country than in Chicago alone.
Police recorded 548 murders, or 1.73 for every of 100,000 Canada's 31.6 million inhabitants, down from 582, or a rate of 1.86, in 2002, Statistics Canada said in Ottawa. Chicago, with a population of 2.87 million, had 598 murders in 2003, according to U.S. Department of Justice data.
Canada's decline contrasts with murder trends in the U.S., where the number of reported homicides has risen for the past three years. The U.S. homicide rate was 5.69 in 2003, more than three times Canada's.
About half of Canada's decline in homicide rate can be explained by demographic changes that caused the share of young men in the population to fall, said Neil Boyd, a professor of criminology at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia. The rest is harder to explain and could be related to cultural changes, he said.
The number of homicides against children fell to its lowest in more than 25 years, at 33, and 50 fewer women were murdered than the year before. Gang-related murders almost doubled to 84, up from 45. A change in the way Toronto's police force counts homicides explains the increase in gang-related murders, the Ottawa-based agency said.
Global Trends
Canada's declining homicide rate dovetails the international trend observed in most industrialized countries since the early 1990s. In Canada, the homicide rate has been falling since the mid- 1970s after climbing to three murders for every 100,000 Canadians. In the U.S., it fell after 1991, when it touched 9.8 per 100,000, before stabilizing in the early 2000s at about 5.6 to 5.7.
Canada's homicide rate was similar to those in France, the U.K. and Australia. Japan and Scotland have the world's lowest homicide rates, with 0.51 murders per 100,000 and 0.64 per 100,000 respectively.
More than a third of victims in Canada were killed by a family member and 19 percent were killed by a spouse or a former spouse. A fifth of victims were killed by casual acquaintances and 14 percent were murdered by partners in crime.
Two-thirds of murderers have a criminal record, and a majority of them have committed a violent offense before, StatsCan said. More than half of victims also had a criminal record.
Firearms were the weapons of choice for most murderers in 2003, as 29 percent of homicides involved a shooting, compared with 26 percent for stabbings and 22 percent for beatings. In 2002, knives were chosen by 31 percent of killers in Canada against 26 percent for firearms.
The Maritime provinces enjoy the lowest homicide rates in Canada, and Prince Edward Island is the least murderous province with a rate of 0.73 homicide per 100,000. The Prairies have the highest rates among provinces, and Saskatchewan is the most dangerous province, with a rate of 4.12 murders for every 100,000 inhabitants.
Sept. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Canada's homicide rate fell to a three-decade low last year, as fewer people were murdered in the entire country than in Chicago alone.
Police recorded 548 murders, or 1.73 for every of 100,000 Canada's 31.6 million inhabitants, down from 582, or a rate of 1.86, in 2002, Statistics Canada said in Ottawa. Chicago, with a population of 2.87 million, had 598 murders in 2003, according to U.S. Department of Justice data.
Canada's decline contrasts with murder trends in the U.S., where the number of reported homicides has risen for the past three years. The U.S. homicide rate was 5.69 in 2003, more than three times Canada's.
About half of Canada's decline in homicide rate can be explained by demographic changes that caused the share of young men in the population to fall, said Neil Boyd, a professor of criminology at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia. The rest is harder to explain and could be related to cultural changes, he said.
The number of homicides against children fell to its lowest in more than 25 years, at 33, and 50 fewer women were murdered than the year before. Gang-related murders almost doubled to 84, up from 45. A change in the way Toronto's police force counts homicides explains the increase in gang-related murders, the Ottawa-based agency said.
Global Trends
Canada's declining homicide rate dovetails the international trend observed in most industrialized countries since the early 1990s. In Canada, the homicide rate has been falling since the mid- 1970s after climbing to three murders for every 100,000 Canadians. In the U.S., it fell after 1991, when it touched 9.8 per 100,000, before stabilizing in the early 2000s at about 5.6 to 5.7.
Canada's homicide rate was similar to those in France, the U.K. and Australia. Japan and Scotland have the world's lowest homicide rates, with 0.51 murders per 100,000 and 0.64 per 100,000 respectively.
More than a third of victims in Canada were killed by a family member and 19 percent were killed by a spouse or a former spouse. A fifth of victims were killed by casual acquaintances and 14 percent were murdered by partners in crime.
Two-thirds of murderers have a criminal record, and a majority of them have committed a violent offense before, StatsCan said. More than half of victims also had a criminal record.
Firearms were the weapons of choice for most murderers in 2003, as 29 percent of homicides involved a shooting, compared with 26 percent for stabbings and 22 percent for beatings. In 2002, knives were chosen by 31 percent of killers in Canada against 26 percent for firearms.
The Maritime provinces enjoy the lowest homicide rates in Canada, and Prince Edward Island is the least murderous province with a rate of 0.73 homicide per 100,000. The Prairies have the highest rates among provinces, and Saskatchewan is the most dangerous province, with a rate of 4.12 murders for every 100,000 inhabitants.
More info: http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/040929/d040929a.htm
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