FIREARMS FACTS UPDATE

MORE PROOF GUN REGISTRATION DOESN’T WORK

Statistics Canada - Crime Statistics in Canada, 2003

Released July 28, 2004 - Catalogue #85-002-XPE, Vol.24, no.6

HIGHLIGHT - Page 1

The robbery rate increased (+5%) for the first time since 1996.  Robberies committed with a firearm increased (+10%) in 2003, and continue to account for about one in seven robberies.

FIRST INCREASE IN ROBBERIES SINCE 1996 - Page 8

In 2003, the rate of robberies in Canada increased (+5%) for the first time since 1996.  The rate of robberies has been generally declining since 1991, when it reached a peak of 119 incidents per 100,000 population.  The 2003 rate of 90 is 24% lower than that peak but 10% higher than twenty-five years ago.

Nearly half of the over 28,000 robbery incidents reported by police in 2003 were committed without a weapon.  A further 14% were committed with a firearm, and the remaining 38% with a weapon other than a firearm.  Handguns are the most popular type of firearm present during robberies, accounting for approximately four out of every five robberies committed with a firearm in 2003.  Knives accounted for nearly three out of every five robberies committed with a weapon other than a firearm in 2003.  [Emphasis added]

The rate of firearm robbery increased 10% from the previous year, the first increase since 1991.  However, the 2003 rate was still about 50% lower than in 1993.  The rates of robberies committed without a weapon and with a weapon other than a firearm were both up from 5% in 2002.

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NOTE: Registration of handguns has been mandatory since 1934.  The registration of rifles and shotguns was tried and failed during World War II.  The most recent legislation requiring everyone to register their long guns came into effect on December 1, 1998.