Rate of homicides in Waterloo Region ‘well below’ national average

WATERLOO REGION — While violent crime reported in Waterloo Region is higher than the provincial average, when it comes to tracking homicides, the region falls well below many other Canadian cities.

According to a recent report by Statistics Canada, the rate of homicides in the Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo census metropolitan area (CMA) has remained consistently below the national rate over the past decade, with the exception of 2013.

In the annual Homicide in Canada report for 2020, Statistics Canada explores the short and long-term trends in homicide. On Wednesday, information from this report will be presented to the Waterloo Regional Police Services Board at the first meeting of the year.

In 2020, there were 743 reported homicide victims in Canada. Despite COVID-19 causing an overall decrease in police-reported crime, there were 56 more victims of homicide in 2020 compared to 2019. This was the highest reported number since 1991.

The national rate for 2020 is 1.95 victims per 100,000 population. The rate in Waterloo Region’s CMA was 1.32 victims per 100,000. This is below rates in Toronto and Hamilton and slightly above London. In 2020, the region ranked 24th nationally and 12th provincially.

There were eight victims of homicide reported in the region in 2020, and two reported in 2021. Last year’s homicides were reported on Paulander Drive and Powell Road in Wellesley Township.

Nationally, the Statistics Canada report found the 2020 rate of homicide for Indigenous peoples was almost seven times higher than the rate for non-Indigenous people (10 per 100,000, compared to 1.4)

Roughly one in four homicide victims were reported as a visible minority, 50 per cent of whom were identified as Black.

While spousal homicides decreased in 2020, Canada saw more homicides committed by other family members, intimate partners, acquaintances and strangers.

Shooting continues to be the most common method of homicide in Canada, with handguns accounting for half of all firearm-related homicides. In 2020, there was one firearm-related homicide reported in the region.

When it comes to firearms, “Historically, the Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo CMA have reported low absolute numbers, with 2017 recording no firearm-related homicides,” the report prepared for the police board reads.

Gang-related homicides have also traditionally been uncommon in the region. In 2020, there were no gang-related homicides reported.

Last year, while seeking a budget increase in order to hire additional officers, police chief Bryan Larkin repeated that violent crime in the region was on the rise, outpacing the province. Since 2017, the violent crime severity index has placed the region above the provincial average but not the national average.

When it comes to reported homicides, the Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo CMA falls well below provincial and national averages.

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