Sask. reported highest in nation for violent-related crimes: Statistics Canada

A new report out from Statistics Canada shows that violent-related crimes involving firearms have gone up since 2021.

Canada saw an increase of 8.9 per cent, putting the national rate at 36.7. That rate is calculated at per 100,000 people.

The agency is also saying this is the highest national rate recorded since they started recording data back in 2009.

Saskatchewan was rated the highest province in Canada for these crimes with the rate sitting at 109.6 per cent. The province did report a seven per cent drop in violent crimes between 2021 and 2022.

When considering per capita rates, places with lower populations often have high rates, despite fewer actual instances of violent crime when compared to places like Ontario.

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There is still cause for concern though. Among Canada’s cities, Regina posted the highest rate and the highest percentage of firearm-related violent crime.

The Regina Police Service (RPS) says firearms are becoming more prevalent in cities across Canada and Regina is no different.

“I think when we think about some of the issues in our city, we have really complex problems related to poverty, addictions, intergenerational trauma, and so sometimes that leaves people in a really bad spot. Unfortunately we have more interactions with criminal justice system and unfortunately that is translated to more firearms in our community,” Deputy Chief of Operations Lorilee Davies told CTV News.

Davies says the RPS’s crime reduction unit does continue to work with all parties to get firearms off the city streets.

“Their full time job is finding people who have firearms, getting them off the street. Long term investigations, people bringing firearms into our community, people who are printing ghost guns. All of those things are things we have never seen five years ago, ten years ago, so we do have a unit that is solely dedicated to that,” she added.

Generally speaking, the increase in the rate of violent crimes is from all types of hand guns.