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Canadian crime rate hits 25-year low
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| Contributor | Scott³ |
| Last Edited | Scott³ Jul 19, 2007 10:00am |
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| Category | News |
| News Date | Wednesday, July 18, 2007 03:00:00 PM UTC0:0 |
| Description | Reuters Canada article.
An excerpt...
"Canada's crime rate fell to a 25-year low in 2006, led by big declines in nonviolent offenses like break-ins, minor thefts and counterfeiting, as well as a sharp drop in homicides, official government figures showed on Wednesday.
The national average of crimes reported to police fell 3 percent, Statistics Canada said in a report, with crime rates down in all 10 provinces and three territories.
Despite an overall improvement, the Prairie province of Saskatchewan remained the country's hotbed of criminal activity for the ninth year in a row.
"Crime rates have usually tended to be higher in the West than the East," said Neil Boyd, criminology professor at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia.
"Perhaps it has something to do with a greater transient population in the West and longer periods of settlement in the East."
Western Canada's booming resource-based economy is another possible factor because it attracts young men -- responsible for most crime -- in disproportionately large numbers, Boyd said.
The national homicide rate fell by 10 percent to 1.85 per 100,000 people, ending a two-year upward trend. The number of homicides fell by 58 to a total of 605 in 2006.
But the report found an increase in serious violent crimes like attempted murder and kidnapping.
On the up side, the rate of break-ins dropped to its lowest level in over 30 years, Statscan said. Since peaking in 1991, the rate has fallen 50 percent, including a 5 percent drop in 2006.
Drug crimes increased 2 percent with marijuana offenses accounting for six out of every 10 reported cases. Cocaine offenses rose by 13 percent and crystal meth offenses by 8 percent, Statscan said." |
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