Findings

Crime patterns

To begin, an exploration of changes in crime patterns was conducted to address which crimes have declined. The following analysis uses two main time periods: 1962 to 2003, when examining overall crime rates and 1977 to 2003, when examining specific crime types. More >>

Societal, policy, legislative and practice changes

Declines in crime rates in the 1990s have occurred simultaneously with many societal, policy and legislative changes as well as changes in criminal justice practices. These include the changing age structure of the population, changes in economic conditions, changes in alcohol consumption patterns, changes in policing style, rising incarceration rates, changes in drug markets, and changing social values. These factors have received considerable attention in the United States ; their relevance to the Canadian context is assessed below. More >>

Crime trends in Western Canada and the North

In the preceding section a number of factors were considered at the national level which may have had an effect on overall crime patterns throughout the 1990s. The following section examines provinces where crime rates have increased, counter to the national trend. It explores possible relationships between provincial crime rates, policies and socio-demographic factors. More >>

Statistical relationships between crime trends and major socio-economic trends

The following section examines the statistical relationships between changes in crime rates and a number of macro-level socio-demographic and economic trends. The focus is on four major crime types over the period 1962 to 2003: homicide, robbery, break and enter and motor vehicle theft. More >>

Limitations and future research

Readers should be aware of possible limitations with the data source and measures used in this analysis. More >>