Wednesday, July 30, 1997
For release at 8:30 a.m.
1996
Canada's homicide rate increased by 6% in 1996, following four straight annual declines. Police reported 633 homicides, 45 more than in 1995. Part of this increase was due to an increase in multiple-victim homicides.
The 1996 rate of 2.11 homicides per 100,000 people was still well below the peak of 3.02 in 1975. The homicide rate more than doubled between 1961 and 1975. Since then, despite annual fluctuations, the rate has gradually decreased.
Chart: Homicide rate
According to preliminary 1996 data, the homicide rate in the United States was almost four times higher than Canada's. However, Canada's homicide rate is generally higher than that of many European nations.
Most provinces reported an increase in homicides in 1996, notably Manitoba, Quebec and Saskatchewan. The increases in these three provinces were primarily due to homicides involving acquaintances. The only decreases were reported in Alberta and New Brunswick.
Table: Homicides
______________________________________________________________________________
1995 1996
______________________________________________________________________________
Numberr Rate(1) Numberr
Newfoundland 5 0.87 7
Prince Edward Island 1 0.74 1
Nova Scotia 17 1.81 18
New Brunswick 14 1.84 9
Quebec 135 1.84 153
Ontario 181 1.63 187
Manitoba 27 2.38 45
Saskatchewan 21 2.07 31
Alberta 60 2.18 53
British Columbia 120 3.19 125
Yukon 4 13.20 -
Northwest Territories 3 4.56 4
Canada 588 1.99 633
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1996
______________________________________________________________________________
Rate(1)
Newfoundland 1.23
Prince Edward Island 0.73
Nova Scotia 1.91
New Brunswick 1.18
Quebec 2.07
Ontario 1.66
Manitoba 3.94
Saskatchewan 3.03
Alberta 1.90
British Columbia 3.24
Yukon 0.00
Northwest Territories 6.01
Canada 2.11
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(-) Nil or zero.
(r) Revised.
(1) Rates are calculated per 100,000 population using updated postcensal
estimates.
In general, homicide rates continue to be highest in the western provinces. Manitoba recorded the highest rate, followed by British Columbia and Saskatchewan. Prince Edward Island, with one homicide, recorded the lowest rate, followed by New Brunswick and Newfoundland.
Five of the nine largest CMAs reported a drop in homicides last year. Only Winnipeg and Québec showed large increases, with Québec's increase mainly due to an unusually low number of homicides reported in 1995.
Table: Homicides by census metropolitan area
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Population of 500,000 1995 1996
and over
______________________________________________________________________________
Numberr Rate(1) Numberr
Toronto 74 1.70 79
Montréal 77 2.31 71
Vancouver 64 3.50 56
Ottawa-Hull 28 2.74 17
Ontario 24 3.11 11
Québec 4 1.59 6
Edmonton 19 2.15 20
Calgary 18 2.16 12
Québec 4 0.58 15
Winnipeg 16 2.36 28
Hamilton 17 2.64 10
Total 317 2.22 308
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Population of 500,000 1996
and over
______________________________________________________________________________
Rate(1)
Toronto 1.79
Montréal 2.11
Vancouver 2.97
Ottawa-Hull 1.64
Ontario 1.41
Québec 2.32
Edmonton 2.25
Calgary 1.41
Québec 2.15
Winnipeg 4.12
Hamilton 1.52
Total 2.13
______________________________________________________________________________
(r) Revised.
(1) Rates are calculated per 100,000 population using updated postcensal
estimates.
Winnipeg reported the highest rate among the nine largest CMAs, followed by Vancouver and Edmonton. The lowest rates were in Calgary and Hamilton. Montréal's rate (2.11 per 100,000 population) was its lowest since 1981, when CMA data were first collected. The nation's largest city, Toronto, continued to report a homicide rate well below the national average.
In 1996, 211 homicides were committed with a firearm, 35 more than in 1995. Firearms have accounted for about one-third of all homicides since 1979. Homicides, however, account for a relatively small portion of firearm deaths. The latest figures available (1995) show that about 80% of all firearm deaths were due to suicide.
The use of handguns in all homicides has increased over the past decade (from 7% to 17%) while the use of rifles/shotguns has decreased (from 20% to 13%). In 1996, a further 31% of homicide victims were stabbed and 22% were beaten.
The youth homicide rate has remained relatively stable in the last decade. From 1986 to 1995, an average of 49 youths were charged with homicide each year, representing 9% of all those accused of homicide. In 1996, 51 youths were charged with homicide, down from 68 in 1995, accounting for 8% of all accused persons.
Violence against children is a major concern to Canadians. In 1996, 53 children under the age of 12 were killed (the same as in 1995) compared with an average of 56 each year since 1985. Of these 53 children, about three-quarters were killed by family members, and 18 of the victims were under 1 year of age.
Homicides are more likely to be committed by someone known to the victim than by a stranger. Where an accused was identified, almost half (49%) of victims were killed by an acquaintance, more than a third (37%) by a spouse or other family member, and the remaining 14% by a stranger. Of the incidents involving strangers, 87% of the victims were male.
Spousal homicides continue to account for one out of every six solved homicides. Over the past decade, an average of 97 persons were killed by a spouse each year, with women representing three-quarters of these victims. In 1996, 80 persons were killed by either a current or former spouse - 62 women and 18 men.
In addition, 19 females were killed by a boyfriend or ex-boyfriend. In all, about 4 in 10 female victims were killed by someone with whom they had an intimate relationship at some point in time.
Males have consistently comprised the majority of homicide victims as well as those accused of committing homicide. In 1996, 69% of homicide victims were male, as were 89% of accused.
Available on CANSIM: matrices 314-317 and 319 will be available shortly. Tables 00160401 to 001604005 are now available.
"Homicide in Canada, 1996" which appears in Juristat, Vol. 17, no. 9 (85-002-XPE, $10/$93), is now available. See How to order publications.
For further information on this release, contact Information and Client Services (613-951-9023 or 1 800 387-2231), Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics.
1996
Canada's crime rate - a measure of public safety - fell for the fifth consecutive year (down 2.0% in 1996). These decreases follow almost three decades of steady increases.
Chart: Crime rate
The five-year decline put the crime rate - the incidence of crime per 100,000 people - at virtually the same level as it was in 1986.
Police reported 2.6 million Criminal Code incidents last year, 11% of which were violent crimes and 59% property crimes. The remaining incidents were other criminal offences such as mischief, prostitution, arson and bail violations.
The violent crime rate fell by 2% for the fourth consecutive year, following 15 years of steady growth. Much of that growth was due to a large increase in common assaults, the least serious and most prevalent of the violent offences.
The property crime rate decreased slightly last year (-1%), continuing the general decline since 1991.
The crime rate refers to Criminal Code incidents, excluding traffic offences, reported by police. Many factors can influence crime statistics, such as changes in the age composition of the population, legislation, police enforcement practices and reporting by the public to police.
The most recent International Crime Victimization Survey confirms the recent trends in police-reported data, which show declines in most crimes between 1991 and 1995. The results also showed that, despite these drops, the fear of crime among Canadians has grown.
Two types of violent crime, homicide and robbery, increased last year. Rates fell for all other violent crimes including attempted murder, sexual assault, other types of assault and abduction.
After dropping four years in a row, the homicide rate turned upward in 1996 (+6%). The homicide rate has generally been decreasing since the mid-1970s.
The robbery rate rose for the second consecutive year, up 2% from 1995. Despite decreases in the early 1990s, the rate has generally been increasing in the last 10 years.
Although total robberies increased in 1996, those involving firearms decreased for the fifth consecutive year. The rate of robberies with firearms was 31% lower than five years ago and 13% lower than a decade ago. In the last 10 years, robberies involving weapons other than firearms, such as knives, have shown the largest increase. About 4 in 10 robberies involved no weapons last year.
Minor assaults, which account for 6 in 10 violent crimes, dropped for the third straight year. The rate, however, was still 39% higher than a decade ago.
It should be noted that the incidence of wife assault is difficult to measure with police data given the reluctance of some women to report to police. According to a sample of 61 police agencies (including Montréal, Toronto and Vancouver), the number of reported incidents has been dropping steadily from 1993 to 1996 (-18%). This sample of police agencies represents 29% of the national volume of crime and are mostly from Quebec and Ontario. The reader is cautioned that these data are not nationally representative.
Similarly, the number of "home invasions" reported by this sample dropped 17% between 1993 to 1996. Broadly defined, a home invasion encompasses robberies of private residences as well as residential break-ins with a violent crime against the occupant(s). This type of crime has received widespread attention because of the deliberate attack against the sanctity of one's home.
Police reported 1.5 million property incidents in 1996. Last year's rate was 15% lower than five years ago and 6% lower than a decade ago.
Motor vehicle theft is the one property crime that has continued to rise in recent years: since 1988 it has grown by 79%, including a 9% jump in 1996. The only other property crime to increase last year was residential breaking and entering (+3%).
The rate of young people aged 12 to 17 charged with violent crime fell 4% in 1996, the first notable decline since the Young Offenders Act came into effect.
Even so, the rate in 1996 remained 9% higher than five years ago and more than double that of a decade ago. The increase over the past 10 years was largely due to growth in the number of young people charged with common assault.
While the rate of youths charged with robbery remained stable last year, rates fell for young people charged with all other types of violent crime, including assault, sexual assault, robbery and homicide. The rate of youths charged with property crimes fell 5%, the fifth consecutive decline.
In total, police charged 117,773 youths with Criminal Code offences in 1996. More than half were charged with property crimes and 19% were charged with violent crimes. In comparison, 4 in 10 adults were charged with property crimes and 28% with violent crimes.
Three of the nine largest census metropolitan areas (CMAs) reported an increase in their overall crime rate: Québec (+5%), Montréal (+3%) and Vancouver (+3%). Although Québec showed the largest increase, it still retained the lowest overall crime rate. As with previous years, the highest rate was reported by Vancouver.
In terms of violent crime, five of the CMAs reported declines, the largest in Toronto (-9%). Violent crime grew only in Calgary (+4%) and Vancouver (+2%) and it remained stable in Edmonton and Hamilton. As with the overall crime rate, Québec reported the lowest rate of violent crime, and Vancouver the highest.
For property crimes, rates dropped in five of the nine cities, with the largest decrease in Ottawa (-15%). Rates increased in Québec (+6%), Montréal (+4%) and Vancouver (+4%), and remained stable in Calgary. Property crime is now lowest in Toronto and continues to be highest in Vancouver.
Table: Police-reported incidents, by most serious offence
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1996 1995 to 1996
______________________________________________________________________________
number rate(1) % change in
rate
Violent crime 291,437 973 -2.2
Homicide 633 2 6.4
Attempted murder 848 3 -10.7
Assaults 227,678 760 -2.2
Sexual assaults 26,762 89 -6.1
Other sexual offences 3,310 11 -6.4
Robbery 31,242 104 2.1
Abduction 964 3 -7.9
Property crime 1,555,800 5,192 -0.8
Break and enter 396,085 1,322 0.2
Motor vehicle theft 178,580 596 9.2
Other thefts 849,529 2,835 -2.6
Having stolen goods 30,599 102 -3.4
Fraud 101,007 337 -3.9
Other Criminal Code
crimes 776,911 2,593 -3.0
Mischief 364,021 1,215 -5.2
Prostitution 5,912 20 -18.5
Arson 12,865 43 -3.3
Offensive weapons 16,132 54 -8.9
Other 377,981 1,261 -0.2
Total Criminal Code
excluding traffic
crimes 2,624,148 8,758 -1.6
Impaired driving 95,877 320 -7.4
Other Criminal Code
traffic crimes 65,928 220 -9.0
Drugs 65,106 217 4.4
Other federal statutes 31,365 105 -14.2
Total federal statutes 2,882,424 9,620 -2.0
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(1) Rates are calculated based on 100,000 population.
Available on CANSIM: 2198-2200 and tables 00140103 and 00150202.
Juristat: Crime statistics, 1996, Vol. 17, no. 8 (85-002-XPE, $10/$93) is now available. See How to order publications.
For further information on this release, contact Information and Client Services (613-951-9023 or 1 800 387-2231), Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics.
Table: Crime rates for census metropolitan areas(1)
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Violent crime Property
crime
______________________________ _____________
1996 1995 to 1996 1996
______________________________________________________________________________
rate % change in rate
rate
Population of 500,000
and over
Vancouver 1,325 2.2 10,494
Winnipeg(2) 1,137 -4.9 6,272
Ottawa 911 -7.8 5,940
Edmonton 922 -0.2 5,219
Hamilton 1,131 -0.7 4,770
Montréal 839 -2.8 5,351
Calgary 769 4.0 5,384
Toronto 824 -9.4 4,277
Québec 539 -7.0 4,380
Population of 250,000
to 499,999 (3)
Victoria 1,354 -0.0 6,863
Halifax 1,178 1.8 5,550
London 882 -8.2 5,929
Windsor 866 0.3 5,107
Hull 727 5.4 4,819
St. Catharines-Niagara 655 0.2 5,018
Kitchener 721 16.7 4,499
Population of 100,000
to 249,999
Regina 1,259 9.8 10,078
Thunder Bay 1,945 7.0 5,780
Saskatoon 1,301 5.6 6,901
Sudbury 929 -17.9 5,162
Saint John 990 19.4 4,379
St. John's 1,046 -20.7 4,200
Trois-Rivières 517 0.2 4,337
Sherbrooke 418 2.6 4,365
Chicoutimi-Jonquière 658 4.2 3,893
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Property Total Criminal Code
crime
_____________ ______________________________
1995 to 1996 1996 1995 to 1996
______________________________________________________________________________
% change in rate % change in
rate rate
Population of 500,000
and over
Vancouver 4.4 14,868 2.7
Winnipeg(2) -5.8 9,829 -6.6
Ottawa -14.9 9,393 -14.1
Edmonton -1.5 8,569 -1.0
Hamilton -5.7 8,027 -5.8
Montréal 4.0 7,981 2.9
Calgary 0.1 7,843 -0.3
Toronto -4.8 6,920 -7.0
Québec 6.1 6,398 4.9
Population of 250,000
to 499,999 (3)
Victoria -6.9 12,014 -5.3
Halifax 0.8 9,608 4.4
London -11.1 9,541 -10.9
Windsor 3.9 8,696 1.5
Hull 4.2 7,994 1.0
St. Catharines-Niagara -4.7 7,896 -5.1
Kitchener -4.7 6,969 -3.5
Population of 100,000
to 249,999
Regina 4.5 15,060 3.2
Thunder Bay -13.0 12,094 -4.2
Saskatoon 6.5 11,638 6.2
Sudbury -4.1 8,280 -8.2
Saint John 21.3 7,973 17.1
St. John's 21.2 7,526 17.1
Trois-Rivières 5.4 6,625 4.0
Sherbrooke -0.2 6,371 -0.4
Chicoutimi-Jonquière -1.8 5,965 -0.3
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(1) Rates are calculated per 100,000 population.
(2) Winnipeg police have discovered an under-recording of minor offences
that has been occurring in recent years, the magnitude of which has not
yet been determined.
(3) The Oshawa census metropolitan area (CMA) is excluded from this table
due to methodological concerns regarding matching of the police agency
jurisdictional boundaries and CMA boundaries.