Calgary crime statistics continue downward trend
Posted Jun 3, 2013 7:26 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Local officials are encouraged, but are scratching their heads as they try to explain why crime rates in the city are down.
A preliminary check of the numbers shows crime rates in most categories in 2012 were down compared to 2011.
So-called “person crimes,” including sexual assaults and robberies, are down eight per cent.
Property crimes like break and enters and car thefts are down six per cent from 2011.
Deputy Chief Trevor Daroux tells The Calgary Herald he’s encouraged, but says police have to wonder if the reduction is good news or does it mean the public isn’t reporting crimes as much as they have in the past.
Alderman Shane Keating, who sits on the police commission, credits police for ramping up crime prevention efforts and tackling root causes.
Mount Royal University criminologist Doug King thinks a shift in the city’s demographics from a younger to an older population is a major contributing factor.
The final crime stats from 2012 won’t be available until the end of the month.
