Gang killings behind highest homicide rate in decade

Last Updated: Wednesday, November 8, 2006 | 12:02 PM ET

CBC News

A jump in gang-related killings increased the national homicide rate in 2005 to its highest point in nearly a decade, according to Statistics Canada.

The number of homicides committed with a firearm also rose for the third year in a row, the report found.

Police reported 658 homicides last year, 34 more than in 2004 and after reaching a 30-year low in 2003.

The national homicide rate peaked in the mid-1970s at 3.03 homicides per 100,000 population. The rate has generally been dropping since then, reaching a low of 1.73 in 2003. The 2005 rate was 2.04 homicides per 100,000 population.

Of the 2005 homicides, the study found 222 were committed with a firearm, 49 more than the previous year.

By comparison, 198 victims were stabbed to death last year.

There were 107 gang-related homicides in 2005, accounting for 16 per cent of all homicides. The number increased by 35 from the previous year. Large increases were reported in Ontario, particularly in Toronto, and in Alberta.

But a revision to the Homicide Survey may account for the increase, the report said.

The survey included homicides in which gang-related activity was "suspected" by police, and not just "determined." It is not known if suspected gang-related incidents were included in the total before 2005.

The survey also found that the youth homicide rate reached its highest point in more than a decade. A total of 65 youths ages 12 to 17 were accused of homicide in 2005, 21 more than the previous year.

But the spousal homicide rate continues to drop. The 74 spousal homicides in 2005 represented the fourth consecutive annual decline.

This report also contained for the first time a detailed analysis of homicide clearance rates among the nation's largest police services. Among the 24,000 homicides in Canada since 1961, 85 per cent have been solved by police.