Homicide statistics 1994 The homicide rate decreased in 1994 for a third straight year, reaching a 25-year low. Despite annual fluctuations, the rate has been gradually decreasing over the last 20 years after increasing sharply during the 1960s and early 1970s. The 1994 rate of 2.04 homicides per 100,000 population was 6% lower than in 1993, and 32% lower than the peak in 1975. Chart There were 596 homicides reported in 1994, 34 fewer than in 1993. This decrease was due primarily to a large decline in the Montral metropolitan area (30 fewer homicides than in 1993). As a result, the province of Quebec reported its lowest homicide rate since 1968. Among the other provinces, only New Brunswick and Alberta reported an increase in their 1994 rate. Alberta's rate was still below average for that province; its 1993 rate was unusually low. Historically, homicide rates have generally increased from east to west. This trend continued in 1994, with British Columbia recording the highest provincial rate for a third consecutive year, and Newfoundland the lowest for a second consecutive year. Table: Homicide by province and territory ______________________________________________________________________________ 1994 1993 ______________________________________________________________________________ homicides rate(1) homicides Canada 596 2.04 630 Newfoundland 4 0.69 7 Prince Edward Island 1 0.74 2 Nova Scotia 19 2.03 19 New Brunswick 15 1.98 11 Quebec 126 1.73 159 Ontario 192 1.76 193 Manitoba 29 2.56 31 Saskatchewan 24 2.36 30 Alberta 66 2.43 49 British Columbia 113 3.08 122 Yukon 3 9.97 0 Northwest Territories 4 6.22 7 ______________________________________________________________________________ 1993 ______________________________________________________________________________ rate(1,r) Canada 2.18 Newfoundland 1.20 Prince Edward Island 1.50 Nova Scotia 2.04 New Brunswick 1.46 Quebec 2.20 Ontario 1.78 Manitoba 2.75 Saskatchewan 2.96 Alberta 1.82 British Columbia 3.41 Yukon 0.00 Northwest Territories 11.04 ______________________________________________________________________________ (1) Rates are calculated per 100,000 population using updated post-censal estimates. (r) Revised figures. Crime, particularly homicide, is often considered to be an urban phenomenon. In 1994, 63% of all homicides occurred in one of Canada's 25 census metropolitan areas (CMAs). In the same year, these 25 CMAs comprised 61% of the population, meaning that major urban areas were only slightly over-represented in terms of homicide occurrences, consistent with previous years. Among the nine CMAs with populations of 500,000 and over, Vancouver, Edmonton and Winnipeg reported the highest rates. Both Vancouver and Edmonton had fewer homicides in 1994 than in 1993. Qubec and Ottawa-Hull reported the lowest rates. Shootings again accounted for one-third of all homicides Over the past 15 years, shootings have consistently accounted for about one-third of all homicides with a known cause of death. This trend continued in 1994: 90 homicides were committed with a handgun, 66 with a rifle or shotgun, 26 with a sawed-off rifle or sawed-off shotgun, and 14 with a fully automatic firearm. Chart Handguns accounted for 15% of all homicides, up slightly from 1993 but down from 18% in both 1991 and 1992. Other common methods included stabbing (26%), beating (18%), strangulation or suffocation (14%), fire or burns (3%), and poisoning (2%). Table: Causes of death in homicides 1994 ______________________________________________________________________________ Percentage of all homicides ______________________________________________________________________________ Shootings 32.9 Handguns 15.1 Rifles/shotguns 11.1 Sawed-off rifles/shotguns 4.4 Fully automatic firearms 2.3 Stabbings 25.8 Beatings 17.8 Strangulation/suffocat- ion 13.9 Fire/burns 2.9 Poisoning 1.8 Other 3.9 Unknown 1.0 Total 100.0 ______________________________________________________________________________ Almost 9 in 10 victims knew their killers In 1994, 80% of homicide incidents were solved by police, consistent with previous years. For those incidents where an accused was identified, 18% of the victims were killed by a spouse or ex-spouse, 10% by a parent, 12% by another family member, 46% by an acquaintance, and 13% by a stranger (1% unknown). The proportion of homicides committed by strangers has remained relatively stable over the past 10 years, ranging from 12% to 18%. The number of spousal homicides in 1994 (85) was fewer than in both 1993 (87) and 1992 (105). Spousal homicides continued to account for about 1 in 6 solved homicides. Infants at greatest risk The age of greatest risk of being a victim of homicide in 1994 was the first year of life. Of the 27 victims under one year of age, 11 were killed by their father, 9 by their mother, 3 by another family member, and 1 by an acquaintance of the family (the accused was unknown for the other 3 victims). During the last 10 years, an average of 20 children under the age of one have been killed each year. Although children under one year of age were also at greatest risk in 1993, this pattern does not hold true for all years. Homicides committed by youths increased In 1994, 57 youths aged 12 to 17 were accused of committing homicide, compared with 35 in 1993 and 58 in 1992. Youths represented 11% of all accused persons in 1994, the largest proportion in 10 years. Youths accounted for an average of 8% of all homicide suspects during the last 10 years. One in ten homicides drug-related According to police, there was evidence of drug trafficking or the settling of drug-related accounts in 1 in 10 homicides in 1994, consistent with previous years. Available on CANSIM: matrices 2198-2199. "Homicide in Canada, 1994" appears in the vol. 15, no. 11 Juristat (85-002, $10/$90), which is now available. See "How to order publications". For further information on this release, contact Information and Client Services (613-951-9023, toll-free in Canada: 1-800-387-2231), Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics. Table: Homicide by census metropolitan area (500,000+ population) ______________________________________________________________________________ 1994 ______________________________________________________________________________ population ('000) homicides homicide rate(1) Toronto 4,281.9 85 1.99 Montreal 3,322.4 75 2.26 Vancouver 1,774.7 48 2.70 Ottawa-Hull 1,010.3 17 1.68 Ontario 759.5 12 1.58 Quebec 250.8 5 1.99 Edmonton 888.5 24 2.70 Calgary 814.5 18 2.21 Quebec 683.8 11 1.61 Winnipeg 680.5 18 2.65 Hamilton 636.9 13 2.04 Total 14,093.5 309 2.19 ______________________________________________________________________________ 1993 ______________________________________________________________________________ population ('000) homicides homicide rate(1, r) Toronto 4,189.3 71 1.69 Montreal 3,275.6 105 3.21 Vancouver 1,737.5 63 3.63 Ottawa-Hull 996.5 16 1.61 Ontario 751.7 12 1.60 Quebec 244.8 4 1.63 Edmonton 881.0 27 3.06 Calgary 800.7 10 1.25 Quebec 682.9 13 1.90 Winnipeg 674.3 17 2.52 Hamilton 632.6 8 1.26 Total 13,870.4 330 2.38 ______________________________________________________________________________ (1) Rates are calculated per 100,000 population. (r) Revised figures.