Police chief provides perspective to 2020 national homicide data

Reflecting on a recently released Statistics Canada report on Homicide in Canada throughout 2020, our regional police service argues the Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo area remains “well below” the national average rate of homicide. 

That discussion came during Wednesday's meeting of the Waterloo Regional Police Services Board, with Regional Police Chief Bryan Larkin lending his perspective to the data – as well as the key challenges facing our region locally. 

Breaking down the national statistics included in the Homicide in Canada, 2020 report, a quick summary shows there were 743 reported homicide victims in Canada throughout that year – an increase of 56 when compared to 2019 despite an “overall decrease in police-reported crime” due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That number is the equivalent of 1.95 victims per 100,000, said to be the highest reported rate since 2005. 

Comparatively, the Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo area reported eight homicide victims in 2020 – 1.32 victims per 100,000 – ranking 24th nationally and 12th provincially. The rate of homicides in our area has reportedly remained “consistently below the national rate”, with the exception of 2013. 

The “most popular” method of homicide continued to be shootings, with the usage of firearms showing a concerning uptick since 203 – up 91 per cent between that year and 2020. Handguns are said to be the “most used” firearm in homicides, while stabbings and beatings make up the “top three most common methods of homicide.”

Speaking to the local perspective, Chief Larkin noted that the proliferation of handguns in the region continues to be a “cause for concern”, increasing over the last three to five years. However, Larkin also brought attention to the fact that this year has shown the “weapon of choice” for violent crime in the region to be knives, as he urged that sharp instruments are still capable of causing serious harm and injury. 

2020 saw one firearm-related homicide in the Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo area, said to be a bit of an outlier compared to the zero firearm-related homicides reported in 2020 and “low absolute numbers” typically seen. The tri-cities ranked 27th in firearm-related homicide, while coming in 11th provincially. 

The Statistics Canada report also outlined that the majority of Canadian homicide victims in 2020 were male. Indigenous persons are nearly seven times more likely to be victims of homicide – with 10.05 Indigenous victims per 100,000 versus 1.41 non-Indigenous victims per 100,000 throughout that year. In terms of the relationship between the victim and accused, the data looked to solved cases where that data was available, showing most accused and victims were “acquaintances”, accounting for 38 per cent of homicides in 2020. Over 60 per cent of adults accused of homicide had a previous criminal record, while 54 per cent of adult homicide victims also had a record. 

Calling the motivations behind homicide both complex and unique, Larkin noted that it's difficult to predict what future StatsCan homicide data will look like for 2022, though he did highlight that 2021 had two homicides throughout the year – including one in Wellesley and one toward the year's end in Kitchener. Chief Larkin also brought attention to what he called a “silver lining” in that there were no intimate partner homicides reported locally, despite the issue being a “significant challenge” locally, provincially and nationally. 

“We did have 16 shootings last year which was also a decline from 2020.” said Larkin. “That being said, our totality in 2020-2021… we see violent crime and crime severity which exceeds the provincial average and is slightly below the national average.”

Larkin also said there may be a “good opportunity” in the coming months for the service's Major Crimes unit to provide an overview on the work that they do in breaking down the factors of a homicide investigation.