THUNDER BAY – Crimebeat – Statistics Canada reports, Regina, Saskatoon, Thunder Bay, Winnipeg have highest city crime rates in Canada. There is some good news in the annual report for the City of Thunder Bay; Total crime in the city is down 4%, and violent crime is down by 8%.
Statistics Canada says, “As has been the case since 1998, Regina reported the highest CSI value. It was followed by Saskatoon, Thunder Bay and Winnipeg. Guelph had the lowest CSI value among CMAs for the fifth consecutive year, followed by Québec, Toronto and Ottawa”. Source: Statistics Canada
Crime rates in terms of reported crime have dropped by 4% for overall reported crime, and 8% for violent crime.
Canada’s homicide rate rose 7% in 2011 to 1.7 homicides per 100,000 population. Police reported 598 homicides in 2011, 44 more than in 2010. Despite annual fluctuations, the homicide rate has generally been declining since peaking in the mid-1970s.
Statistics Canada states, “Police are solving more crimes than in the past. The weighted clearance rate rose for the seventh consecutive year to 39.4% in 2010, up from 33.5% in 2003. This measure represents the proportion of reported crimes solved by police, factoring in the seriousness of individual offences.
“In 2010, three-quarters of homicides were solved by police. Clearance rates for homicide have gradually declined from around 95% in the early 1960s when data were first collected”.
Thunder Bay is, by the Statistics Canada figures, continuing on the right direction, crime rates, and violent crime are headed downward.