NCJ Number
81894
Journal
Criminologie Volume: 14 Issue: 1 Dated: (1981) Pages: 85-104
Date Published
1981
Length
20 pages
Annotation
The trends in rates for homicide and armed robbery in Montreal, Canada, are outlined to indicate overall crime tendencies.
Abstract
The course of homicides is traced from 1944 to 1975 and that of armed robberies and bank robberies from 1970 to 1979 on the basis of police statistics. From 1971 to 1974 homicides constituted 8.09 percent of the violent deaths in Montreal, suicides 22.75 percent, and traffic accidents 43.2 percent. The homicide rate was lower than the rate for most Canadian cities but four times higher than in the average large U.S. city. The growth in the number of homicide victims took place in three phases: 1944 to 1955, 1956 to 1967, and 1968 to 1975. A significant increase was evident around 1968. Seasonal fluctuations in crime rates were minimal. Few homicide victims came from areas with low socioeconomic levels. From 1976 to 1978 the homicide rates fluctuated considerably, and an increasing proportion of homicides were committed with firearms over the period from 1963 to 1975. The constants over the study period were a diffused social impact, impermeability of high-level socioeconomic zones, and diffusion in other zones. As for armed robberies, in 1978 6,514 of 10,533 were committed in Quebec. The Montreal robbery rate was high for Canada, but roughly comparable to that of the United States. The number of bank robberies increased in 1962; banks have responded by improving their surveillance and security systems. It is concluded that the question of the value of homicide and armed robbery rates as indicators of overall crime rates remains open. Tables and a 16-item bibliography are supplied.