Canadians don't have a clue about crime
They think it's increasing, when it's actually decreasing:
According to the Canadian Press Harris-Decima survey, 57% of respondents nationwide said crime is on the rise.
Only 10% said the crime rate has decreased over the last couple of years, as is actually the case. Thirty per cent said they believe it has remained relatively stable.
The perception that crime is increasing was particularly strong among women — 65% versus 49% of men.
And it was most marked in Alberta and British Columbia, where 73% and 69% respectively said the crime rate is worsening.
But actual crime statistics suggest those fears are unfounded.
Statistics Canada reports that the national crime rate dipped to its lowest level in 30 years in 2007, the most recent year for which data are available.
From the London Free Press. Blame the 24-hour news cycle, plus endless reruns of Law and Order and CSI. Of course, the authorities love this, because it's easier to sell the public on increasing the numbers of police. This in turn creates more opportunities for stuff like this.
hey I love CSI, and I know crime rates are down.
Maybe women's perception that crime is increasing reflects the rising rates of crime against them and that of its acceptability in mainstream "gaming" and "entertainment" culture?
Also, even Statistics Canada recognizes the extreme under-reporting and under-addressing of VAW.
"(...)Trends in various types of violence against women, as recorded in police statistics, are mixed. Rates of reported sexual assault have declined since 1993. In addition, the number of spousal violence incidents against women has declined since 2000, while the rate of violence perpetrated by boyfriends has increased. Also, the number of male partners reported to police for criminal harassment has risen. (emphasis added)
Sexual assault is one of the most under-reported crimes. According to the GSS, fewer than 10% of sexual assaults in both survey years were reported to the police. Police statistics show a decline in sexual assault rates which was most dramatic in the early 1990s. However, it is difficult to know to what extent this is affected by changes in victims' reporting behaviour over time.
Victims' decisions to report the violence to criminal justice and social services depend on a variety of factors, some of which include fear of the offender, shame and embarrassment, and regional availability of services. The majority of victims of spousal assault and over 90% of sexual assault victims did not seek support from the criminal justice system. (emphasis added)
The number of female victims of spousal assault who contacted police or social services remained steady between 1999 and 2004. The number of women accessing shelter services has also been stable in recent years. This does not necessarily represent the need for shelter services, however, as the data show that on a single day there were over 200 women turned away from shelters. (emphasis added)
According to police statistics, rates of spousal violence and spousal homicide are higher for Aboriginal women than for non-Aboriginal women or Aboriginal men. The severity and impact of spousal violence are also greater for Aboriginal women.
Rates of sexual assault and other violent crimes are higher on reserves than in other areas of Canada.
(Statistics Canada, The Daily, Monday, October 2, 2006 )
The only crime statistics that matter are murder and car theft, because those get reported nearly every time they happen. Everything else deals with reported crimes, and if people aren't reporting crimes, then those aren't reflected in the statistics. Is there any reliable way to get a handle on this problem? I don't know. But Martin raises a good point about sexual assaults not being reported. Take domectic violence, for instance. If the statistics rise, does that mean that the number of domestic assaults is rising, or simply that due to it being on the public radar more recently that more cases are being reported when they weren't previously?
Yeah, good question. My working assumption is that the incidence of these crimes will approximately track other crimes, but it's admittedly rather hard to test that assumption, for the reasons you elaborate.
So please let's not let the powers-that-be convince us that women are "clueless" when expressing the perception taht crime is increasing, simply because authorities are more concerned with thefts and murders.
The statistical analysis is not meant to survey specific crimes, it uses specific crimes as indicators of general trends. For example shooting deaths are up, even though crime overall is down.
is shit cops do included in the crime rate? that would greatly increase it. the hood has stayed the hood all I can say on that I see my environment it doesn't matter if statscan says this or that I see what happens n we c stayin in the hood and we c doin stuff in the hood that won't get mentioned and never will.
And the other stuff about crime rate ppl said is right most goes unreported so you can never really tell and there many ways to change stats for major crimes such as Burglary and Robbery. You can change a major burglary for example such as armed robbery on stats and make it look like a B&E or lower. That what cooking the stats is. Only thing they can't change really is murder. And it would be better to look at shootings in total instead of murder because w/ improved medical care even the murder rate would be down a lot since the 90's. One of my bois survived 3 in the head do you think 10-20 years ago that would have been possible?