As usual, this can be interpreted two way -- either the "tough on crime" policies are working or we don't need those policies.
Since the statistics date back to 2008, before the majority of the new initiatives kicked in, it makes sense to suggest "tough on crime" isn't the basis for the drop.
Now, in fairness, not all crime (maybe not even most) is reported -- but a drop in reported crime suggests a drop in crime overall.
Police-reported crime down in 2008: StatsCanPolice-reported crime dropped by five per cent in 2008, according to a Statistics Canada report, which also found a decline in the severity of those crimes.
According to the report, there were 77,000 fewer reported crimes last year, including:
28,000 fewer thefts of $5,000 and under
22,000 fewer break-ins
20,000 fewer motor vehicle thefts
The drop marked the fifth consecutive year that police-reported crime fell in Canada.
...
Statistics Canada also reported Tuesday that crime severity was down in almost every province, particularly in Manitoba, where the Police-reported Crime Severity Index (PRCSI) was down 14 per cent.
The PRCSI did increase in one province: Prince Edward Island, by seven per cent. However, it was still lowest in the country, at 68.
Crime severity was highest in the North and West, with Saskatchewan posting a PRCSI of 156 in 2008, well above the national average of 90. The PRCSIs in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories were double that of Saskatchewan.
2 comments:
It's great that crime is going down.
However,the sentences that serious violent repeat criminals receive is also going down.
I think the important part of the article is here:
"The drop marked the fifth consecutive year that police-reported crime fell in Canada."
Clearly the reduction started long before any tough on crime policies came into play. This is consistent with the numerous studies that say tough on crime policies have no effect on the crime rate.
In fact, if the reduction in crime is due to any legislation you would have to say it is related to the liberal crime policies (not that I am necessarily arguing that).
Consider, too, that the criminal code is not getting shorter. We are criminalizing more activity, not less. One would think the crime rate would go up in that case, so perhaps the reduction is even greater than it would appear.
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