Halifax's high firearm homicide rate troubles police
The number of homicides in Halifax is declining, but the capital city still has the highest homicide rate in the country when it comes to firearms, according to Halifax police.
Mark Hartlen, president of the Halifax Regional Police Association, said the force is concerned by the amount of violence on the streets, which was reflected in Statistics Canada’s 2012 homicide report.
Last year Halifax recorded 12 homicides. With 11 days left until the new year, Halifax police are reporting eight.
“Overall, homicides are going down and they're going down across the country ... including Halifax. However, when you look at Halifax specifically, you know the 2012 stats, you'll find that we still are rated as number one with respect to the likelihood of being shot and killed in Halifax, which again is not really a ranking you'd like to brag about,” said Hartlen.
“It's not something we're proud of.”
Hartlen said his members are troubled with the level of violence they're facing on the streets. He said this year the force has come across more attempted murders and in some cases, police officers were the victims.
"There just seems to be an awful lot of more incidents where we're running into firearms or getting involved with people who have edged weapons and you know the use of force spectrum and the expectations of the officers really, really seems to be increasing,” he said.
“I think we need to really be cognizant of the fact there's still a lot of work that needs to be done."
He'd said like city officials and police officers sit down and try to come up with a solution.
If the number of homicides holds at eight, it will be the lowest number since 2008.
The number of shots fired is also down. There were 61 in 2012 and 51 so far this year.
Officers seized 725 firearms in 2013, up from 689 last year.
Nationwide, Statistics Canada says police recorded 543 homicides in Canada in 2012, down 55 from the previous year, as the country had its lowest homicide rate since 1966.
