The health emergency and the sporadic confinement of the past two years have left indelible traces in all spheres of human activity: physical and mental health, organization of work, socialization of children, academic success, inter-regional migration, breakdowns in public services. , increased pressure on healthcare, disruptions in supply chains, economic turmoil, and more. The impact on crime is no exception.
Statistics Canada unveiled this week an exhaustive portrait of crimes reported by the police in the country for the year 2021. The organization notes “significant changes” with regard to the nature of the crimes brought to the attention of the police. Thus, the violent crime severity index (CGI) increased by 5% in 2021, and it reached a higher level than at the start of the pandemic.
Among the most significant findings, we note an 18% increase in the rate of level 1 sexual assaults (those that are at the lowest level of the seriousness scale, from a statistical point of view). They account for one third of the increase in the IGC with violence. For all sexual assaults, the rate (90 incidents per 100,000 inhabitants) is at its highest level since 1996. This is all the more worrying since crimes of a sexual nature are the subject of low reporting: barely 6% of them are reported to the police.
Although it is risky to draw definitive conclusions from an overall statistical portrait, we can outline some plausible hypotheses. In cottages marked by a deficit of love and harmony, vulnerable women have not been able to escape the clutches of violent spouses who abuse their power. during confinement. Over the past two years, many organizations involved in the prevention and intervention of domestic violence and child protection have underlined in broad strokes the consequences of the pandemic on women and children in of vulnerability. The health emergency has increased social inequalities, a collective setback that will not magically disappear. Let’s not forget this issue, which is often overlooked in terms of public policy, as the election campaign in Quebec approaches.
The other major concern in this report is the increase in the rate of harassment crimes (up 10%), the rate of non-consensual distribution of intimate images (up 8%), the rate of harassing or indecent communications (up 4%), the rate of extortion (up 19%) and the rate of hate crimes (up 27%).
With respect to hate crimes, this is a second significant increase in the offense rate, after the 36% increase the previous year. In absolute numbers, racially motivated crimes come first (1,723 cases particularly targeting Blacks and Asians), followed by religiously motivated crimes (884 cases primarily targeting Jews), and finally crimes motivated by ethnicity. orientation (423 cases).
In the category of harassment crimes and hate crimes, we see at work the combined effect of an erosion of our benevolence in times of pandemic coupled with a disruption of the universe of social media.
In the name of a distorted view of net neutrality and the right to freedom of expression, digital commerce giants have come to disempower themselves when it comes to the circulation of extreme and radical content on their platforms. Unless it is proof that once out of the lamplight, the genius of algorithms can hardly be brought under the control of human intelligence. In addition, the anonymity provided by social networks facilitates harassment, threats and indecent behavior, observes Statistics Canada.
As part of the work of the Department of Canadian Heritage to regulate hate speech, this is certainly an interesting avenue to explore. Banning anonymous accounts would not solve all the problems, it would even have no effect in the Dark Web. It could at least clean up the discussion spaces on the platforms used every day by an overwhelming majority of citizens.
Overall, Canada remains a safe country. It compares favorably to its ramshackle neighbor to the south, where more than 17,000 people were killed by firearms… in the first five months of 2022. In Canada, firearms killed 297 in the whole year 2021, almost half of which (46%) was attributable to gangs, which still argues in favor of increased vigilance and control.
To ensure that human tragedies do not inflate crime statistics over the next few years, we must bear in mind the importance of investing not only in police squads, but also in prevention and net-strengthening initiatives. social security for people at risk.