ShareThisBy JILL MAHONEY
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Canadians are increasingly killing each other with guns, a trend that is partly driven by a spike in gang-related homicides.
The number of homicides involving firearms climbed for the third year in a row in 2005, according to a new Statistics Canada report. Of the 658 homicides last year, 222 _ or 34 percent _ were carried out with guns, up from 173 in 2004.
Despite the upward trend, gun-related homicides are still below levels seen in the early 1990s and far lower than the peak reached in 1975.
The Statscan report, released this week, also found that handguns were used more frequently. Last year, handguns accounted for 58 percent of all firearm homicides, up from 2004 and significantly higher than pre-1991 levels, when rifles and shotguns were more common. The number of handgun killings has increased in six of the past seven years.
While the report does not examine why killers are choosing handguns over long guns, Neil Boyd, a criminology professor at Simon Fraser University, said it's a "change in the character of homicide" in Canada and also speaks to the increasing number of gang-related slayings.
"It's not as if we're seeing a culture similar to the United States with respect to this problem, but it does raise concerns," he said.
Most of the increase in last year's homicide rate was driven by a surge in gang-related killings, especially in Toronto and Edmonton. As Statscan reported in July, the homicide rate increased for the second consecutive year to the highest point in nearly a decade.
Nationally, 107 homicides _ 16 percent of the total _ were considered gang-related, 35 more than in 2004. (The increase may be partly because for the first time in 2005, Statscan counted homicides in which suspected gang activity was a factor, instead of just cases where it had been determined. However, the agency also said police forces may have included suspected gang ties in previous years' tallies.)
Two-thirds of gang-related homicides involved a firearm, usually a handgun.
After guns, the next most common method of homicide _ which includes first-degree murder, second-degree murder, manslaughter and infanticide _ was stabbing. Last year, 198 people were stabbed to death.
Statscan also found the youth homicide rate reached its highest point in more than a decade in 2005, when 65 youths aged 12 to 17 were accused of homicide, 21 more than in 2004. But the rate has remained relatively stable over the past 30 years, Statscan said. Overall, youth crime declined by 6 percent last year.
