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Edmonton Journal

Temitope Oriola: Numbers show crime is down but troubling trends emerge

Article content Statistics Canada has just released its annual ' Police-reported crime statistics in Canada. ' The publication comes from data garnered from police services through the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) survey, in operation since 1962. Article content It provides a barometer for understanding trends and patterns of criminality. This is an important resource for criminologists for research, teaching and advisory purposes; police services as they assess how they compare with their peers across Canada; and policymakers concerned with public safety. Article content Article content Article content The caveat is that only a fraction of criminal episodes (29 per cent of violent and non-violent incidents and six per cent of sexual assaults, according to the 2019 General Social Survey on Victimization by StatCan) come to the attention of the police. Nonetheless, several areas stand out regarding the latest (2024) year in focus. Article content Article content The crime severity index (CSI) decreased by four per cent across Canada. This is noteworthy partly because CSIs increased in the previous three years. The CSI is a composite statistical measure of both the 'volume' and 'seriousness' of Criminal Code incidents, as well as other federal-statute-related incidents. Article content Compared to 2023, the CSI in Alberta declined by nine per cent. Across Alberta, while CSI declined by 20 per cent in Red Deer, Edmonton saw a five-per-cent decline and Calgary recorded a 14-per-cent reduction. Article content The homicide rate is always worth noting. There was a four-per-cent decline in the homicide rate in Canada. That translated to 788 homicides in 2024 versus 780 in 2023. Article content However, an important fact lurks underneath: In 2024, while 34 fewer men were killed, 28 more women were killed compared with 2023. In particular, spousal and intimate partner homicides continue to be quite worrisome. In 2023, 32 per cent of female victims of homicide were killed by a spouse or intimate partner. That increased to 42 per cent of female victims of homicide in 2024. Article content The fundamentally gendered nature of this crime is evident in the fact that six per cent of male victims of homicide in 2024 were killed by a spouse or intimate partner (in other words, seven times higher for women compared to men). Article content There were 225 victims of homicide identified as Indigenous in 2024. This is 29 homicides more than the 2023 figures. The Indigenous homicide rate of 10.84 per 100,000 persons is higher than the national average of 1.91 per 100,000 persons. Victims of homicide identified as visible minorities constituted 29 per cent.