Tuesday, August 3, 2004

SPOTLIGHT: Crime

Crime rate increases

The national crime rate has seen its first substantial increase in over a decade.

Canada’s national rate increased 6% in 2003, driven by a surge in counterfeiting across the country, as well as an increase in most property crimes and minor offences such as mischief and disturbing the peace.

There was virtually no change in the amount of violent crime reported by police. But most categories of property crimes rose last year, including break-ins, auto thefts, possession of stolen goods and minor thefts.

There were also notable gains in other large-volume, minor offences such as mischief and disturbing the peace. Some forces have attributed this increase to new reporting procedures introduced in 2003 that made it easier for the public to report these types of crimes to police.

On the other hand, the national homicide rate fell 7% last year to its lowest level since 1967. The drug crime rate also dropped 8%, its first decline since 1993, mostly due to a decrease in the number of reported incidents of cannabis possession.

Youth crime among those aged 12 to 17 increased 5%, the third gain in the last four years.

Overall crime rates rose in all provinces and territories except Ontario and Yukon, where they stayed about the same. Double-digit increases were reported in Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia, Manitoba and Prince Edward Island.

Saskatchewan reported the nation’s highest rate, followed by Manitoba and British Columbia. Ontario reported the lowest crime rate, for the first time since statistics were collected in 1962.

Counterfeiting jumps

More than 138,000 counterfeiting incidents were reported by police in 2003, an increase of 72%. They now represent 5% of all Criminal Code offences, making it the sixth largest volume crime in Canada.

The Bank of Canada’s Annual Report for 2003 said there were more than twice as many counterfeit notes detected in circulation as the year before. This might be partly due to an increase in the detection of counterfeit currency rather than solely an increase in counterfeit activity.

Drug crime rate falls, first time in nearly a decade

The rate of drug incidents fell 8% in 2003, its first decline since 1993. This was largely due to an 18% drop in the rate of cannabis possession offences, which account for about half of all reported drug crimes. However, the rate of cannabis cultivation incidents, or marijuana “grow-ops”, rose 3%.

British Columbia has reported the highest rate of drug crimes among the provinces for the past twenty years. It was also the only province to show an increase in reported drug incidents in 2003.

Impaired driving continues to decline

The impaired driving rate fell 5% last year, continuing a downward trend over the past 20 years. Police reported about 77,000 incidents of impaired driving last year.

You can read more in the latest issue of Juristat: Canadian crime statistics, 2003, available through our website.

For more information, contact Information and Client Services (613-951-9023), Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics.

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© 2004, Statistics Canada.