FIREARMS FACTS UPDATE

ONCE AGAIN, STATISTICS CANADA PROVES
REGISTERING & BANNING GUNS FAILS TO SAVE LIVES

On November 8, 2006, Statistics Canada released their 2005 Homicide report. Here are some highlights that show that criminals are the real problem – not the type of weapons they use against their victims.

THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND AS YOU READ THESE HIGHLIGHTS:

• The RCMP has been registering handguns since 1934 and fully automatic firearms, sawed-off rifles and shotguns have been banned for decades.
• In 1995, the Liberals passed Bill C-68 banning some 555,000 handguns and requiring the licencing of all gun owners and the registration of all rifles and shotguns. More than a billion dollars later this is the result.

HIGHEST HOMICIDE RATE IN NEARLY A DECADE - Page 2: Canadian police services reported 658 homicides in 2005, 34 more than in 2004. The increase in homicide coincides with increases in the rates of other serious violent offences, including attempted murder (+14%), aggravated assault (+10%) and robbery (+3%).

SASK. HIGHEST MURDER RATE IN THREE DECADES - Page 3: Three of the four western provinces recorded the highest homicide rates among the ten provinces: Saskatchewan (4.33 per 100,000), Manitoba (4.16) and Alberta (3.35). The homicide rate in Saskatchewan reached its highest rate in almost three decades.

FIREARM HOMICIDE RATE THE SAME AS IT WAS 20 YEARS AGO - Page 4: Over the years, the most common method used to commit homicide has varied between stabbings and shootings. Although the proportion remained relatively stable compared to previous years, the rate of firearm homicides increased for the third year in a row. This rate is virtually the same as it was 20 years ago.

66% OF MURDERS COMMITTED WITHOUT A FIREARM - Page 5 and Table 5: In 2005, 30% of homicide victims were stabbed to death, 22% were beaten, 7% were strangled or suffocated and the rest by other means.

58% OF FIREARMS HOMICIDES COMMITTED WITH HANDGUNS - Page 5 and Table 7: In 2005, handguns accounted for 58% of all firearms related homicides. Rifles and shotguns accounted for 31% and 9% were committed with banned fully automatic firearms, sawed-off rifles and shotguns.

ONLY 30% OF RECOVERED FIREARMS WERE REGISTERED - Page 5: Among the 222 shootings in 2005, 40% of all guns were recovered by police. Among the 78 firearms recovered by police in 2005, 23 were reported as having been registered and 42 were not registered. The registration status was unknown for the remaining 13 firearms.

64% OF ACCUSED MURDERERS HAD A CRIMINAL RECORD - Page 11: In 2005, almost two-thirds (64%) of adults (18 years or older) accused of homicide had a Canadian criminal record. Among those adults with a criminal history 62% had a prior conviction for a violent offence: 6 for homicide, 53 for robbery and 145 for another type of violent offence (such as assault).”

23% OF ACCUSED MURDERERS WERE ABORIGINAL - Page 11: While Aboriginal people account for approximately 3% of the Canadian population, they comprised 17% of victims and 23% of the persons accused of committing homicide in 2005.

73% OF ACCUSED MURDERERS HAD BEEN DRINKING OR ON DRUGS - Page 12: Among cases where it was known whether alcohol or drugs were a factor, police reported that the majority of accused persons (73%) and victims (57%) had consumed an intoxicant at the time of the homicide.

13% OF ACCUSED MURDERERS WERE MENTALLY ILL - Page 12: Police suspected the presence of a mental or developmental disorder among 13% of persons accused of homicide in 2005, similar to the percentage reported each year since 1997.

45% OF MURDERS OCCURRED WHILE COMMITTING ANOTHER CRIME - Page 12: Nearly half (45%) of the homicide incidents in 2005 (for which information is available) occurred during the commission of another offence that led to the homicide. Of these 224 incidents, the majority (164) were committed as a result of a violent offence: most commonly during an assault (97), or during a personal or commercial robbery (38).

22% OF MURDER VICTIMS WERE INVOLVED IN ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES - Page 13: Data from the Homicide Survey have shown that homicides are often associated with a victim’s involvement in illegal activities, such as gang activities, drug dealing or trafficking and prostitution. In 2005, police reported a total of nine prostitutes killed. There were another 139 homicides committed against persons working in other types of illegal “occupations” such as drug dealing, organized crime or gang activity. This is an increase of 37 murders over 2004.