Police-related crime in Canada is quickly dropping to its lowest levels since the 1960s. According to a report by Statistics Canada. The report was released last Wednesday, and experts have been discussing the results since. Many people believe that the drop in serious crime could be due falling numbers of break-ins and robberies. Let’s take a look at the findings and what the experts are saying.
The Figures
According to StatsCan, there was around a 5% drop in all crimes compared to 2013 numbers. The police reported just over 369,000 violent crimes in 2014, which is around 15,000 less than the previous year. The only figure to have gone up slightly was homicides. This rose from 512 to 516 – a subtle increase, but an increase nonetheless. What is interesting, is that the rate of homicides is actually unchanged when you take population size into account. In fact, all of these figures take the population size into consideration. The demographic of the country is changing, which is why some experts believe these numbers are dropping. It isn’t just Canada seeing a decrease in violent crimes, however. All over the western world we’re seeing a decline in the number of crimes reported.
The Best and Worst
The report also gave details of the best and worst places for crime, in Canada. Surprisingly, Saskatoon had the highest rate of crime in the country. This is the first time that the city has been dubbed the worst for crime. Usually, it is Regina which suffers from the most serious offences. Urban areas in Canada have been the worst impacted over the last year. Around a third of all urban towns and cities have seen a rise in criminal activity. Particular in areas such as sex working and sexual assault. This may be why we’re seeing an increase in the number of people reaching out for a criminal defense attorney. Especially in the most rural areas of the country. Although crime rates are falling as a whole, there are some towns and cities that are seeing a rise in certain offences. Saskatoon saw a massive increase of 10% – a lot of which was put down to breaking and entering. The safest place in Canada is Barrie, which has the least number of reported crimes in the country.
Across the Globe
As we’ve already mentioned, Canada isn’t the only country to notice a decrease in crime. Both the UK and US have seen some areas drastically dropping. While things such as robberies may be on the decrease, terrorism has increased. Many countries in the western world are on high alert for a terrorist attack. If anything were to happen then this could skew those falling numbers quite drastically. It’s a genuine concern for governments of Canada, the USA, the UK and much of Europe. However, police forces are being specially trained to deal with such situations.
We’re unsure whether the severe crime rates will continue to drop in Canada. Or around the rest of the world, for that matter. However, with levels at their lowest since the 1960s, it’s a good time to be a Canadian citizen. Let’s just hope that they continue to fall.
