(Quebec) Crimes against the person are increasing much faster than the population in the capital. This trend, which is observed across the country, confuses experts who struggle to explain why crime is on the rise again in Canada after decades of decline.
The Quebec City Police Service (SPVQ) unveiled its annual report on Tuesday. Police have identified an increase in all types of crime in 2023.
Crimes against the person, the most serious, increased again last year. The SPVQ has listed 9,019. This category includes murders as well as sexual assaults, assaults, threats, etc.
This 6.6% increase in violent crime in one year represents the third successive annual increase in the capital. For comparison, the population of Quebec increased by barely 3% between 2022 and 2023 according to preliminary data from the Institute of Statistics of Quebec (ISQ).
Since 2019, a pre-pandemic year, violent crimes have jumped 38% in Quebec, according to SPVQ data recorded by The Press. However, these crimes had remained stable – around 6,500 annually – for years before the pandemic.
Quebec is not a special case. Montreal has also seen an increase in crimes against the person for years, just like the entire country.
“I have worked for decades on reducing crime. For several years I saw that it was increasing. There, looking at the recent figures, we cannot deny that there has been an increase since 2014,” analyzes Marc Ouimet, retired professor from the School of Criminology at the University of Montreal.
“There is no longer any question of statistical oscillation, there is a fairly strong increase in violence,” he says.
Data from Statistics Canada shows that crimes against the person reached a peak in the country in 1991. This was followed by a constant decline until a low of 736 violent crimes per 100,000 inhabitants in 2014. Their number rose to 932 /100,000 inhabitants in 2022, latest year available. Property crimes followed a similar increase.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY MARC OUIMET
Marc Ouimet, retired professor from the School of Criminology at the University of Montreal
“It’s a new phenomenon which goes a little against all the theories which explained the decline, there is really a problem”, comments Mr. Ouimet.
The expert recalls that the drop in crime from 1991 to 2014 was explained by several factors. He cites the aging of the population, the fact that young people were busier than before, studied longer, had jobs more easily, the fact that people spent much more time at home, the development of technologies which increase risks of crime detection, disappearance of cash, etc.
“But these factors are still true today,” notes the retired professor.
Marc Ouimet dares a hypothesis: he cites the increase in homelessness or drug addiction as potential avenues. “But I have no data,” he explains, “it’s purely a hypothesis. »
The SPVQ, for its part, notes “an increase in mental health interventions,” according to its spokesperson Sandra Dion.
Mme Dion recalls that there was an outbreak of violence in criminal groups last year in the capital. She also notes an explosion in vehicle thefts, “but also a change in behavior among suspects, while more and more reckless thieves will rush towards the police. »
“There is also a lot of drug and alcohol use associated with episodes of assault,” she says. This reaction may be attributable to the end of the pandemic. »