National homicide rate drops by 10 per cent
StatsCan report comes a day after crime bill announced
Oct 18, 2007
Theresa Boyle, Toronto Star

The day after the federal government announced plans for a massive anti-crime bill, new statistics show the national homicide rate has taken a big dip.

Canada's homicide rate dropped by 10 per cent in 2006 compared to the previous year and the number of shooting homicides fell for the first time in four years, according to numbers released by Statistics Canada yesterday.

There were 605 homicides in the country last year, 58 fewer than the prior year. Of those, 196 occurred in Ontario and 99 in Toronto.

Of the 605 homicides, 190 were committed with a firearm, 33 fewer than in 2005, and 210 homicides were stabbings, 13 more than 2005.

Meanwhile, this week's Speech from the Throne included a major law-and-order package that would see stricter bail conditions for those who commit crimes with guns, and mandatory prison terms for gun crimes.

It also included:

An amendment to the Criminal Code so those convicted of three violent or sexual offences would have to persuade a judge not to brand them a dangerous offender.

2,500 new police officers and new powers to deal with drug dealers.

A tougher Youth Criminal Justice Act.

Rosemary Gartner, a criminology professor at the University of Toronto, said despite the fact the homicide rate has been on a general decline since the mid-'70s, some politicians can't resist turning crime into a hot-button issue.

"The easiest way to make points in politics is to be seen as being tough on crime," she said.

According to Statistics Canada, the number of young people aged 12 to 17 accused of homicide was at its highest in 2006 since data was first collected in 1961. A total of 84 young people were accused of homicide, 12 more than in 2005.

Gartner said she is concerned that such information could be manipulated for political purposes.

"I'm worried the Harper government could pick this up and say, `Look at this, we've got more youth than ever charged with homicide,'" she said.

Gartner pointed out that there were 54 victims of homicides committed by youths, a number unchanged from the previous year.

Before drawing any conclusions, she said it's important to determine if there has been a change in police charging practices, she said.

"Because we know that police have had (an) increasingly more difficult time getting people to share information with them, (perhaps) they're just charging more people with homicide," she said, adding that this could be a measure to get witnesses talking.

The StatsCan report also noted increases in serious violent crimes such as attempted murder, serious assaults and robberies. But no numbers were provided since the report only dealt with homicides.

Putting more people in prison has a minimal impact, Gartner said. What's more effective and less costly is providing more social supports to children and parents, she argued.

Overall, StatsCan said the national homicide rate was 1.85 per 100,000 population. In comparison, the U.S. rate was 5.7 last year.

With files from The Canadian Press