Firearm-related homicides drop: StatsCan

The number of gang-linked and firearm-related homicides declined slightly, although the overall homicide rate remained unchanged last year over 2008, according to Statistics Canada.

Police reported 610 homicides in Canada during 2009, one fewer than the previous year, according to the federal agency. Of those, 179 were committed by firearms, 21 fewer than in 2008 and a 12 per cent decline.

Statistics Canada says the national homicide rate declined from the mid-1970s until 1999, but has since been relatively stable.

Of the firearm homicides, 112 involved handguns, 29 involved a rifle or shotgun, and 14 were linked to a sawed-off rifle or shotgun. But there were declines in all three categories in 2009.

Police also reported 124 gang-related homicides in 2009, compared with 138 the previous year. Statistics Canada credited the drop to a decrease in gang-related homicides in Alberta, where they dropped from 35 in 2008 to 13 in 2009.

Manitoba recorded the highest homicide rate (4.66 per 100,000 people), followed by Saskatchewan (3.49), British Columbia (2.65) and Alberta (2.58). Prince Edward Island (0.0), and Newfoundland and Labrador (0.2) had the lowest rates.

Among cities with a population of 500,000 or more, Winnipeg had the highest homicide rate (4.15), followed by Vancouver (2.62) and Edmonton (2.58).

The report also found that homicide victims were most likely to be stabbed.

Police reported:

•210 homicides from stabbing.
•179 from shooting.
•116 from beating.
•43 from strangulation or suffocation.

Homicide rates in census metropolitan areas with populations greater than 100,000

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/10/26/homicide-rate.html#ixzz13WIQF87D

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