Crime in Canada drops to 30-year low

Official crime figures released Thursday show that Canada's crime rate fell last year to its lowest rate in 30 years, continuing a trend that began in the early 1990s. That's in stark contrast to Trinidad and Tobago, where the crime rate has been steadily rising every year.

The overall Canadian crime rate in 2007 was down seven per cent from the year before with fewer serious violent crimes, such as murder, and a lower rate of "high volume" crimes such as minor property thefts.

It was the third consecutive year in which the national crime rate dropped, according to Statistics Canada the agency that complied the report from police data.

One of the most notable figures that would be interest to Trinidad and Tobago is the homicide tally.

There were 594 homicides in 2007. That works out to be about two for every 100,000 people.

It's a decline of three per cent over the previous year in a country that stretches across North America, touching three coastlines with a population of 33 million.

If the figures were applied to the Trinidad and Tobago population, it would mean that there should be 20 murders. But the murder figure for TT in 2007 was a record 395 and so far in 2008 it's heading for a new record.

In reverse, if the Trinidad and Tobago per capita murder rate is applied to Canada, the homicide figure for the country in 2007 would have been more than 12,000. That's one of the highest murder rates in the world.

In spite of the declining crime politicians and police in major centers consider crime one of their major problems. By contrast, Trinidad and Tobago doesn't consider crime to be its biggest problem and writes off most killings as "gang-related".

In Canada, the minority government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper is hoping to capitalize on the "high" crime rate in the next federal election, which could be held as early as this autumn.

Analysts are saying the figures might dilute his anti-crime campaign. But Canadians are very concerned about their safety and many still consider the level of crime in the country unacceptable.

A survey released on Monday by Angus Reid Strategies suggests that 50 per cent of Canadians still believe the crime level in their community has increased in the past five years although 82 per cent said they had not been victims.

Police in cities such as Toronto and Vancouver have complained of increasing gun use by gang members.

Both of those cities have suffered several high-profile shooting incidents in recent years.

Among the few crimes to increase last year were drug offenses and impaired driving.