Halifax’s overall crime rate saw a double-digit decline in 2011, dropping 11 per cent over 2010.
But a spike in the number of homicides put the municipality just behind Winnipeg for the highest homicide rate in the country.
Data released by Statistics Canada Tuesday shows a decline in both the municipality’s overall crime rate (11 per cent) and the violent crime rate (12 per cent).
Overall crime severity is down nine per cent over 2010, while violent crime severity was up six per cent.
The declines are part of a long-term downward trend in the crime rate across Canada, according to Statistics Canada.
“It’s hard to give an exact reason for why the numbers are down,” said Halifax Regional Police spokesman Const. Brian Palmeter. “Certainly, the numbers have been declining over the last six years steadily. But we also have to acknowledge the fact that we can only report what the public reports to us.”
Palmeter said there was no evidence pointing to people being less forthcoming with police, but that some crimes such as sexual assault are more likely to go unreported.
The decline in Halifax’s crime rate is mirrored on both the provincial and the national level.
In 2011, Nova Scotia’s overall crime and violent crime rates both dropped seven per cent over 2010. Nationally, the overall rate of crime decreased six per cent, while violent crime decreased four per cent.
The national crime rate is now the lowest its been since 1972, and has been in decline since peaking in 1991. — Metro News
