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July 23, 2014POLICE REPORTED CRIME STATISTICS, 2013 Statistics Canada has released the 2013 results for police-reported crime statistics collected under the Uniform Crime Reporting Survey. This report measures crime numbers, crime rates (per 100,000 residents), crime severity (based on sentencing data) and clearance rates by types of crime. Data are available for Canada, provinces and Census Metropolitan Areas.
Canada's crime rate was 5,968 offences per 100,000 residents; 5,578 of these were Criminal Code violations. In comparison, Nova Scotia's crime rate for 2013 was 6,401 per 100,000 residents - 6,008 of of these were criminal code violations. Halifax's crime rate was below the national average at 5,931 violations per 100,000 residents (5,596 criminal code violations).
Property crimes accounted for the bulk of the crimes - 52.7 per cent nationally, 54.2 per cent in Nova Scotia and 57.3 per cent in Halifax. In comparison, violent crime accounted for 18.3 per cent of national violations, 19.2 per cent of Nova Scotia violations and 18.7 per cent of Halifax violations.
In 2013, Nova Scotia's crime rate fell by 10.4 per cent (10.6 per cent for Criminal Code violations). Halifax's crime rate was down 10.1 per cent (10.0 per cent for criminal code violations). The national crime rate was down 7.6 per cent for all offences as well as for criminal code violations.
Over the past ten years, there have been substantial declines in crime rates in Nova Scotia, particularly among violent crime rates, property crime rates as well as Youth Criminal Justice Act rates. The rates of criminal code traffic violations (including impaired driving and dangerous operation) as well as drug violations were up in Nova Scotia as well as in Halifax.
In addition to falling crime rates, the severity of crimes (as assessed through sentencing data) also declined for most violations. Overall crime severity is down 9.1 per cent in Nova Scotia and in Halifax while national crime severity is down 8.9 per cent. Severity rates for violent, non-violent and youth crimes are all down in 2013 with Nova Scotia youth crime severity dropping faster than in any other province. However, the severity of violent crime in Halifax and youth crimes in Nova Scotia are above the national average.
Statistics Canada Cat. No. 85-002-X