NCJ Number
152219
Journal
Juristat Volume: 14 Issue: 4 Dated: (January 1994) Pages: complete issue
Date Published
1994
Length
21 pages
Annotation
This report describes homicide trends in Canada in 1992, focusing on geographical comparisons, characteristics of homicide incidents, and characteristics of offenders and victims.
Abstract
The number of reported homicides decreased from 756 in 1991 to 732 in 1992, a decline of over 3 percent. While the current rate of 2.7 per 100,000 population is slightly higher than the average for the last 10 years, it is lower than the peak rate of 3.1 reported in 1975 and 1977. Over the past decade, the homicide rate in the U.S. has been three to four times that of Canada. Data for 1992 show a continuing trend in which homicides rates in the Atlantic provinces are lower than those in Quebec and Ontario, which in turn are lower than those in the western provinces. In 1992, 62 percent of homicides occurred in one of the 25 Census Metropolitan Areas, which represent 65 percent of Canada's population. Police solved 80 percent of all reported homicides, 34 percent of which involved use of a firearm. Eighty-four percent of homicide victims knew their killer and 17 percent of solved incidents were identified as spousal homicides. 5 tables, 8 figures, and 2 references