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Canada

Canada Crime Stats

chris.lockyer781

Author: chris.lockyer781

The federal government of Canada has the authority to create laws on criminality, regulations in investigation and crime prosecution. Provinces take care of law enforcement although police jurisdiction is left to federal agencies and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

The crime rate in Canada continues to go down with the homicide rate declining to the lowest level in the last 46 years. The crime severity rate also went down by three percent. Observers claim that one of the reasons for this decline is the tightening of crime laws by conservative legislators.

Besides, citizens do not possess legal rights to possess firearms in Canada. Purchasing a gun takes two months. There is no compulsory licensing for owners of guns. A private citizen in Canada can only apply for a firearms license by having third party references, go through a safety training program and pass the required background checks. These verifications cover criminal, drug addiction and mental health histories. Civilians are not permitted to own automatic firearms, modified handguns, shotguns, automatic rifles, and several types of semi-automatic assault rifles.

Background:

Canada has the 6th highest number of total crimes in the world, with more than 2.5 million crimes reported in 2002, while the 7th highest share of the population - 23.8% - claiming to have been victims of crime. However, despite these faces, Canadian has a positive overall perception of safety in the country, with 82% saying it was safe to walk at night, while 87% expressed satisfaction with police efficiency, the 2nd highest rate globally.

Definitions

  • Age of criminal responsibility: The age at which a person is no longer excluded from criminal liability.  The lowest age is indicated for countries where there isn’t a single age limit, for example where different states have different regulations (such as the USA) or there is different limits for boy and girls (such as in Iran). The spectrum is specifically wide for the USA and Mexico (both 6-12 years). Several US states do not stipulate any minimal age for criminal responsibility at all. For further qualifications, exceptions and other notes, please refer to notes.
  • Assault rate: Number of assaults recorded by police per 100,000 population
  • Crime levels: Level of crime. Based on 0-50 contributions for Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria and 82 more countries and 50-100 contributions for Argentina, Belgium, Bulgaria and 24 more countries and over 100 contributions for Australia, Brazil, Canada and 17 more countries. The surveys were conducted by numbeo.com from July, 2011 to February, 2014. See this sample survey for the United States, respondents were asked "How serious you feel the level of crime is?". The higher the value, the more survey respondents believe it is high in their country.
  • Drugs > Annual cannabis use: Estimate of percentage of 15-64 year old population who use Cannabis.
  • Drugs > Opiates use: Annual prevalence.
  • Murder rate: Homicide rate per year per 100,000 inhabitants in various countries.
  • Police officers: Number of police officers per 100,000 population.
  • Rape rate: Number of rape incidents per 100,000 citizens in different countries. Figures do not take into account rape incidents that go unreported to the police.
  • Total crimes: Note: Crime statistics are often better indicators of prevalence of law enforcement and willingness to report crime, than actual prevalence.
  • Violent crime > Gun crime > Guns per 100 residents: Number of privately owned small firearms per 100 residents.
  • Violent crime > Intentional homicide rate: Homicides per 100’000 residents. Homicide is the death of a person purposefully inflicted by another person (it excludes suicides) outside of a state of war. Homicide is a broader category than murder, as it also includes manslaughter. The exact legal definition varies across countries, some of which include infanticide, assisted suicide, euthanasia and deaths caused by dangerous driving.
  • Violent crime > Murder rate: Intentional homicide, number and rate per 100,000 population.
  • Violent crime > Murder rate per million people: Intentional homicide, number and rate per 100,000 population. Figures expressed per million people for the same year.
  • Violent crime > Rapes: The number of recorded rapes. Large numbers of rapes go unreported. South Africa is estimated to have 500,000 rapes per year, Egypt 200,000, China 32,000 and the UK with 85,000 rapes per year.
  • Violent crime > Rapes per million people: The number of recorded rapes. Large numbers of rapes go unreported. South Africa is estimated to have 500,000 rapes per year, Egypt 200,000, China 32,000 and the UK with 85,000 rapes per year. Figures expressed per million people for the same year.
STAT AMOUNT DATE RANK HISTORY
Age of criminal responsibility 12 2014 35th out of 58
Assault rate 737.5 2011 10th out of 93
Crime levels 39.03 2014 53th out of 93
Drugs > Annual cannabis use 12.6% 2009 2nd out of 8
Drugs > Opiates use 0.4% 2000 9th out of 14
Murder rate 2.05 2009
Police officers 191.4 2006 25th out of 31
Rape rate 1.7 2010 47th out of 57
Total crimes 2.52 million 2002 8th out of 82
Violent crime > Gun crime > Guns per 100 residents 30.8 2014 13th out of 170
Violent crime > Intentional homicide rate 1.56 2012 12th out of 14
Violent crime > Murder rate 554 2010 31st out of 86
Violent crime > Murder rate per million people 16.23 2010 62nd out of 86
Violent crime > Rapes 576 2010 28th out of 57
Violent crime > Rapes per million people 16.88 2010 47th out of 57

SOURCES: Wikipedia: Defense of infancy (Ages of criminal responsibility by country); European Institute for Crime Prevention and Control International Statistics on Crime and Justice, 2011; crime; https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/WDR2011/World_Drug_Report_2011_ebook.pdf, World Drug Report 2011, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), 2011, p. 217.; Wikipedia: List of countries by prevalence of opiates use ("World Drug Report 2011" . United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. 2011. "World Drug Report 2006" . United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. 2006. http://www.unodc.org/documents/wdr/WDR_2009/WDR2009_eng_web.pdf); UN Crime Stats; The Eighth United Nations Survey on Crime Trends and the Operations of Criminal Justice Systems (2002) (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Centre for International Crime Prevention); Annexe I of the Small Arms Survey 2007 ; Wikipedia: List of countries by intentional homicide rate by decade; United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Source tables; United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Source tables. Population figures from World Bank: (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects, (2) United Nations Statistical Division. Population and Vital Statistics Report (various years), (3) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (4) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (5) Secretariat of the Pacific Community: Statistics and Demography Programme, and (6) U.S. Census Bureau: International Database.; Statistics : Crime : Sexual Violence (UNODC) and Crime Statistics : Sexual Violence Against Children and Rape, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime; Statistics : Crime : Sexual Violence (UNODC) and Crime Statistics : Sexual Violence Against Children and Rape, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Population figures from World Bank: (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects, (2) United Nations Statistical Division. Population and Vital Statistics Report (various years), (3) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (4) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (5) Secretariat of the Pacific Community: Statistics and Demography Programme, and (6) U.S. Census Bureau: International Database.

Citation

4

The federal government of Canada has the authority to create laws on criminality, regulations in investigation and crime prosecution. Provinces take care of law enforcement although police jurisdiction is left to federal agencies and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

The crime rate in Canada continues to go down with the homicide rate declining to the lowest level in the last 46 years. The crime severity rate also went down by three percent. Observers claim that one of the reasons for this decline is the tightening of crime laws by conservative legislators.

Besides, citizens do not possess legal rights to possess firearms in Canada. Purchasing a gun takes two months. There is no compulsory licensing for owners of guns. A private citizen in Canada can only apply for a firearms license by having third party references, go through a safety training program and pass the required background checks. These verifications cover criminal, drug addiction and mental health histories. Civilians are not permitted to own automatic firearms, modified handguns, shotguns, automatic rifles, and several types of semi-automatic assault rifles.

Posted on 28 Mar 2014

chris.lockyer781

chris.lockyer781

396 Stat enthusiast

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