Canada is seen as a safe place to live, but violent crime is on the rise, and our safe nation is not so safe anymore.
Canada might seem quiet and safe, and for the most part, it is. In 2013, Canada had the lowest crime rate since ’69, but 2015 began to see a rise in crime rate.
Canada has many little towns and hamlets where it is commonplace for people to leave their doors unlocked. Unfortunately, it usually takes a major crime for people to start locking their doors.
In 2015, Canada saw a rise in crimes pretty well across the board. The crimes that increased in 2015 include homicide, attempted murder, major assault, sexual assault, robbery, and violent firearms offenses. Police-reported property crimes also increased in 2015, including fraud, possession of stolen property, theft over $5,000, identity fraud, motor vehicle theft, and breaking and entering.
Alberta had the greatest increase in the crime rate, large enough that it affected the national crime rate.
It is important to note, however, that in 2015 Alberta suffered a recession and nearly 20,000 jobs were lost.
New Brunswick, Saskatchewan, and the Northwest Territories all reported at least a 10% increase in more serious crimes such as homicide, fraud, and assault level 3 (aggravated assault).
Prince Edward Island had a decrease in crime, which has been in decline for years.
2020 saw an increase in violent crime across the board and has been on the rise for the last 3 years. Nearly one-quarter of homicides in 2021 were gang-related.
2020 did see a decrease in non-violent crime, which actually dropped Canada’s crime severity index, while homicides and violent crime increased.
Saskatchewan had the largest increase in gang-related murders, followed by Manitoba.
The cities of Regina, Winnipeg, and Thunder Bay, Ont., had the highest rates of homicides. The agency said it’s the highest rate since they started collecting data 16 years ago.
Indigenous victims are abnormally high. If you compared it to a non-indigenous person, the crime rate is 6 times higher.
In Saskatchewan, 77% of homicides had an indigenous victim, while only making up about 18% of Canada’s population.
Firearms are the weapon of choice for homicides in Canada, with Toronto reporting the highest gun-related violence. Stabbings compromised about 32% of homicides.
With everyone dealing with COVID-19 and a lot of people having financial difficulties, crime understandably increases.
Kevin Walby, associate criminal justice professor at the University of Winnipeg said:
“I’m not sure we have really developed policies or approaches to mitigating violence or transgressions that are working.”
Canada does need to figure out a way to keep its crime rate from going higher, possibly with more funding for social programs, but so far the crime rate continues to rise.
Hopefully, we can stop it before it gets too bad.
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Sources — weisberg.ca, macrotrends.net, ctvnews.ca, statcan.gc.ca
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