Massive uptick in Calgary homicides in 2020: police breakdown data

CALGARY (660 NEWS) — New data shows the number of homicides in Calgary last year increased sharply from the years before.

There were 34 homicides in Calgary in 2020 — a 70 per cent increase over 2019. It’s also a 25 per cent increase compared to the five-year average.

“Domestic-related homicide incidents remained relatively low, accounting for five out of our total 34 homicides,” said Rebecca Davidson told the Calgary Police Commission. “Our typical average is eight victims per year.

“Five out of eight of them are organized crime or gang-motivated. These are notoriously difficult to solve as witnesses and victims are often un co-operative with police.”

Davidson says in the past five years, shootings made up an average of nearly 50 per cent of the cause of death in all homicides.

“In 2020, roughly three per cent of (…) violence involved the presence of firearm,” said Davidson. “This is up from previous years and is akin to activity recorded in 2015.

“Victims injured by firearms have increased significantly in 2020.”

In response to this violence, Davidson says a Firearms Investigative Team was created in April. The team tracks, traces and investigates crime guns, or a firearm that is unlawfully used, possessed, stored, or is lawfully seized for a criminal investigation.

She says since April, they have seized 1,191 guns, 507 of which were deemed to be crime guns, mostly discovered while conducting search warrants for drugs, or during traffic stops.

“Long-gun type firearms account for 68 per cent of the crime guns that we seized. While handguns account for 64 per cent of those involved in shooting evidence, they only account for 38 per cent of the actual guns seized.”

Davidson says the origins of nearly half of those guns cannot be determined.

“Nineteen per cent of guns were lawfully owned and purchased, nine per cent of crime guns were stolen, seven per cent were smuggled,” she said.