Canada’s Crime Rate Fell to Lowest Since 1972

Canada’s crime rate fell to the lowest since 1972 last year, government figures showed, extending a drop that began in the early 1990s.

There were 5,756 crimes reported to the police per 100,000 people last year, a decline of 6 percent, Statistics Canada said today in Ottawa. Declines were reported for offenses including attempted murders, sexual assaults and car thefts.

A separate index measuring the severity of crime also fell 6 percent last year and has fallen by 26 percent over the past decade, Statistics Canada said. The agency has compiled a census of reports from police departments since 1962.

Regina, Saskatchewan had the highest crime-severity index reading, while Winnipeg, Manitoba had the country’s highest homicide rate last year, the statistics agency said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Greg Quinn in Ottawa at gquinn1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Chris Wellisz at cwellisz@bloomberg.net; David Scanlan at dscanlan@bloomberg.net