Crime in Calgary
 

I couldn't find a thread on crime, perhaps that indicates how little crime impacts most people in Calgary?

Edmonton and Calgary in 2011

From the article: "The discovery of a body in northeast Edmonton Thursday morning led police there to declare another homicide, the city’s 17th such occurrence this year. That tally sits just one shy of Toronto for the nation’s highest murder rate."

Complete misunderstanding of "rate" here. Edmonton has roughly TRIPLE the murder rate of Toronto. The author confuses "number" and "rate" and writes something completely false.

Thanks Rusty, you're right and thanks for pointing that out.

Bingo. Having satellite TV and all the out-of-city broadcasts just reinforces my opinion. Calgary news really has to search far and wide for regular crime coverage.

Does anyone have the up to date comparison between the two cities?

Last I heard Edmonton has 30+ murders this year, Calgary has 3.

No other recent stats though.

I don't think Edmonton's murder rate is abnormally high, the bigger story is that Calgary's is abnormally low.

I wonder if it has anything to do with the deportation of Jackie Tran.

Edmonton's rate is absolutely and indubitably "abnormally high." Shockingly high.

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Crime/20...-18490076.html

According to this article, based on absolute numbers, Calgary has had similiar numbers of murders in recent years to Edmonton's current number. I can't recall a year when Calgary has had so few murders as this year, whereas Edmonton typically has around the current number.

result of the recent "crack down" on gangs in Calgary?

Found this interesting interactive murder location graphic for Calgary too.

http://www2.canada.com/calgaryherald...map/index.html

I think that might have something to do with it. Obviously it's a complex issue, but, over half of the murders last year in Calgary were gang-related. I don't think our social system and justice system have the right tools to deal with organized crime.

We should be investing in more social infrastructure to prevent the conditions that allow gangs to form. IE: more social workers, quality and accessible education, and effective programs to help the social workers do their jobs.

But with regard to justice, we need to be going hard on the senior leaders of the gangs that are responsible for all this carnage. None of this multiple-time credit stuff for time served, so they can be out on the street again to intimidate witnesses and victims.

You are incorrect. Specifically, the article states:
Those were for ENTIRE years - whereas Edmonton's HALF YEAR total was already above where Calgary was for all of 2009. Edmonton was already up to 32 by end of July - at which clip our smaller sister city to the North could hit 55 for the year! Calgary, a larger city, has NEVER had such a high murder clip and thus the speculation about what Calgary did to lower its rate from where Edmonton's rate currently is, is based on false assumption.

The following excerpt from the article is more telling:

They should show where the murderers actually live in a separate map.......it would be interesting. Im not saying it would be any different, but just wondering.

Also those numbers would be more useful per capita.

I strongly agree with the education component. I think the government is dropping the ball, especially in consideration of the THIRTY deaths of Somali men who have died violently. Education I believe is so incredibly important so that everyone is contributing to the greater good of a community. Also, I strongly agree with the direction of Rick Hansen chief of police regarding having a secure treatment facility.

I've posted this in other threads here:

http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/85-002-...1-c-g4-eng.gif

This statscan chart shows how Calgary historically has a much lower murder rate than Edmonton. The past few years were a huge anomaly led by the boom bringing in transients, and gangs. And now we're getting back to normal.

Remember, with a murder rate as low as Calgary typically has, all it takes is one "bad" month (say 5 murders) to bring us back to "average".

So to put Edmonton's current rate in perspective, looking at it annualized it would be 55/1,000,000, meaning 5.5 on that chart. A league of its own.

Yup. And Calgary's would be 0.5 or so. Meaning this year Edmonton is abnormally high, and Calgary is abnormally low.

But again, with numbers so small it doesn't take much to skew well above or below an average. It's not like hundreds of extra (fewer) people are being murdered.

Was walking down stephen ave with a friend near closing time at the bars. We may need some additional police down there just standing by......the youngins were literally trashing the downtown as they walked down stephen. It was kind of appauling.....puncing buidling, kicking doors, throwing rocks at parked cars. The police definately had their work cut out for them. Sometimes I really wish that we had a bunch of 21 or 25 and over places to go in this City.........

I think having police parked on each street at closing time would make the situation better.......maybe?

I realize that the youngins need to have fun too.