Dateline: 07/21/00
Canada's crime rate for 1999 hit the lowest level in 20 years, falling for the eighth year in a row according to Statistics Canada. The overall national decrease was five percent, with Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia leading the way. The crime rate also dropped in the nine largest metropolitan areas of Canada.
In the Maritimes, the crime rate bucked the national trend and showed an increase in all four Atlantic provinces. Even with the increase, Newfoundland still had the lowest crime rate in the country in 1999, and the crime rates in Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick were below the national average.
Saskatchewan's crime rate in 1999 was the highest of the provinces', with 12,1555 "criminal incidents" reported for every 100,000 in population, compared to the national average of 7,733. All three territories - the Northwest Territories, the Yukon and Nunavut - had higher crime rates than any of the provinces.
Only two types of offences showed an increase in the last few years. Drug-related offences have gone up 32 percent since 1993, and the number of instances of disturbing the peace rose 31 percent since 1995.
The rate of impaired driving charges has remained essentially the same over the last two years, in contrast to the decrease for the 15 years before.
The statistics also show that youth crime in Canada dropped 7.2 percent in 1999. That's 21 percent lower than ten years ago.
Statistics Canada bases its analysis on the annual Juristat statistics from the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics which receives police data from the Uniform Crime Reporting Survey.
Related Resources
- Canadian Crime Rates 2003
- Crime in Canada
- Abolition of Capital Punishment in Canada
- Canadian Statistics
