Crime rates for Niagara went down from 2002 to 2007, for overall crime per 1,000, violent crimes, other criminal offences, homicide, robbery, break and enter and motor vehicle crime. They were all below the OMBI average, except for property crimes that remained much higher than the OMBI average in all 5 years.
Table 18 Niagara Report comparing overall crime rates 2002-2006 with OMBI CAO 9-2008
|
|
|
2002 |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
|
Crime rate per 1,000 |
Niagara |
77.34 |
88.03 |
71.03 |
61.67 |
57.16 |
56.36 |
|
|
OMBI average |
63.91 |
67.85 |
63.94 |
60.76 |
58.37 |
55.36 |
|
Violent crime per 1,000 |
Niagara |
8.86 |
8.37 |
7.44 |
7.43 |
6.98 |
6.54 |
|
|
OMBI average |
8.19 |
7.71 |
7.41 |
7.25 |
7.38 |
7.28 |
|
Property crime |
Niagara |
47.03 |
48.73 |
42.6 |
41.52 |
42.11 |
41.02 |
|
|
OMBI average |
38.17 |
36.3 |
35.34 |
32.44 |
32.48 |
30.09 |
Source: OMBI, CAO 9-2008
In Niagara, in 2005, 69.0 youths per 1,000 were charged, higher than the 55.26 youth per 1,000 averages of other Ontario municipalities. In 2006, Niagara’s rate went down to 54.20 youths charged per 1,000 and in 2007 it went up to 74.89, its highest rate since 2003 (88.03) and still higher than the 61.67 per 1,000 average rate for other Ontario municipalities (OMBI, 2007).
The Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Survey data is forwarded to the Canadian Center for Justice Statistics (CCJS) and added to the results of victimization self reports from the General Social Survey (GSS) and reported by Statistics Canada every 5 years. According to their last report (2004), Canada’s crime rate has generally been falling since 1991, except for an increase in 2003 when it peaked. While the total violent crime rates declined, the national homicide rate increased 12%. (1.6% in Niagara). Police reported a crime rate in 2004 that was 12% lower than a decade ago.
In Canada, violent crime accounts for 1 in 10 incidents and it dropped 2 %. Robberies fell 3%. There was a large drop in cannabis incidents in 2003 and a 10% increase in 2004.According to the report, the overall decline in crime in Canada was driven largely by a 5% decrease in Ontario, whose crime rate was the lowest in the country for 2003 and 2004. Most of this decline was due to large decreases in reported crime in the Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) of Toronto, Hamilton, Ottawa and St. Catharines–Niagara during that period.
Rating: 3
