CRIME STATS TROUBLING
It’s time to act in response to the shocking statistics about violent crime in smaller western Canadian communities, and Saskatchewan in particular. On Wednesday, Statistics Canada released a study showing, on a per-capita basis, Saskatchewan had more victims of violent crime than any other Canadian province in 2016. Police reported 20,904 victims of violent crime involving death or bodily harm, making the per capita rate 1,840 people out of every 100,000 — almost double the national per capita rate of 951 victims per 100,000 citizens.
Assaults, threats and sexual assaults are the most common violent crimes reported to police in the province.
The Statcan report comes on the heels of Maclean’s magazine’s release of its Most Dangerous Places 2018 list. North Battleford sits in the No. 1 spot, followed by Thompson, Man., and Prince Albert. Other smaller Saskatchewan cities like Yorkton and Lloydminster made the top 15, while Saskatoon and Regina were in the top 25. Almost all the communities in the top 30 would not be considered urban centres. The four western provinces are over-represented in the list, as are communities that skew to the north.
Controversy sometimes swirls around the Maclean’s list and its methodology, but it is worth noting the per-capital rates of crime it uses to establish the list.
Education and outreach to youth clearly need to be a focus of the response to this issue. The report says people under the age of 12 made up 23 per cent of all sex offence victims. Young people aged 12 to 17 accounted for 33 per cent of sex crime victims. Sexual crimes against boys were reported at a higher rate than those against girls. Fifteen per cent of Saskatchewan’s homicide victims were also under the age of 17, and the majority were girls.
To think that RCMP, the school system and health officials are not fighting to shift the statistics would be a mistake. They are on the front lines of this issue. However, it needs to become the focus of public and political pressure in the general population. The force of public awareness needs to buoy the actions of agencies and create incentives for governments to act and expand programs.
The school system needs particular support in these efforts. Of course, improving graduation rates and making post-secondary training available is a path out of poverty and the despair that contributes to violent behaviour. But increased direct training on issues related to assault and sexual assault — including guidance on the issue of consent — would also make a difference.