FIREARMS FACTS UPDATE

STATISTICS CANADA RELEASED THEIR 2004
HOMICIDE IN CANADA REPORT ON OCTOBER 6, 2005

HERE ARE A FEW IMPORTANT FACTS

Homicide rate jumps in 2004
PAGE 2: "Canadian police services reported a total of 622 homicides in 2004 (73 more than the previous year. The national homicide rate of 1.95 victims per 100,000 population jumped 12%, after reaching its lowest point in more than 30 years in 2003.”

Two-thirds of accused and half of all victims had a criminal past
PAGE 13 - "In 2004, more than two-thirds (68%) of adults (18 years or older) accused of homicide had a Canadian criminal record. Among those adults with a criminal history, 70% had a prior conviction for a violent offence: 8 for homicide."

Aboriginal people over-represented as homicide victims and accused
PAGE 13: "While Aboriginal people account for approximately 3% of the Canadian population, the comprised 17% of victims and 22% of persons accused of committing homicide in 2004."

Family-related homicides increase in 2004
PAGE 10: "In 2004, almost all categories of family homicide increased from 2003."

Half of all homicide incidents occurred during another offence
PAGE 14: "Half (49%) homicide incidents in 2004 in which data was available occurred during the commission of another offence that led to the homicide. Of these 232 incidents, the majority (180) were committed as a result of a violent offence: 106 during an assault, 45 during a robbery, 8 during a sexual assault, 5 as a result of stalking, 3 during a kidnapping and 13 other violent offences. Six other homicide incidents occurred as a result of arson."

Homicides are related to alcohol and/or drug consumption
PAGE 14: "Among cases where it was known whether alcohol or drugs were a factor, police reported that the majority of accused (73%) and victims (55%) had consumed an intoxicant at the time of the homicide."

Mental illness a factor in 14% of accused murders
PAGE 14: "Police suspected the presence of a mental or developmental disorder among 14% of the accused persons in 2004, similar to the percentage reported each year since 1997."

Many victims involved in illegal “occupations”
PAGE 14: "Data from the Homicide Survey have shown that homicides are often associated with the victim's involvement in illegal activities, such as gang activities, drug dealing or trafficking and prostitution. In 2004, police reported a total of 18 prostitutes killed. There were another 100 homicides committed against persons working in other types of illegal "occupations" such as drug dealers, members of an organized crime group or gang, 21 more than in 2003."

Most victims knew their killer
PAGE 7: "Among solved homicides in 2004, 85% of victims knew their killer. Half (50%) were killed by an acquaintance, another one-third (35%) were killed by a family member and 15% of victims were killed by strangers."

Stabbings rise in 2004
PAGE 4: "In 2004, the most common method used was stabbings, accounting for one-third (33%) of all homicides. The number of stabbings rose in 2004 to 205, a 44% increase from 2003 and the highest number in more than a decade. Little more than one-quarter (28%) of homicides were committed with a firearm, similar in the proportion seen over the past ten years. Another 22% were beaten to death, 10% were strangled or suffocated and 2% were killed with fire. Poisoning, deaths caused by shaking and deaths caused my motor vehicles each accounted for 1% of all homicides.”

Two-thirds of firearms-related homicides involved handguns
PAGE 6: "In 2004, handguns accounted for almost two-thirds (65%) of all firearm related homicides whereas rifles and shotguns accounted for about one in five (22%). Another 9% of homicides were committed with a sawed-off rifle/shotgun, 1% with a fully automatic firearm and the remaining 4% with another type of firearm."

Most firearms used to commit homicide are not registered
PAGE 6: "Between 1997 and 2004 in Canada, among those homicides where detailed firearm information was known, 84% were not registered and four out of every five (79%) of accused persons did not possess a valid firearms license."

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STATISTICS CANADA - THE DAILY
Thursday, October 6, 2005
HOMICIDES 2004
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/051006/d051006b.htm