DEMOGRAPHICS CITED AS CRIME RATE DROPS AGAIN

But Drug Charges, Especially Involving Pot, Prove to be One of Big
Exceptions to Overall Decline

Once again, the crime rate across Canada has dropped, falling in 1999
to its lowest level in 20 years.

But there was no such decline in the number of drug charges, notably
those involving cannabis. Arrests for growing or possessing pot shot
up by 16 per cent last year, even as the use of heroin and cocaine
appeared to dip.

Numerous police leaders, including Toronto Chief Julian Fantino, have
called for the decriminalization of marijuana and hashish, describing
the status quo as a huge waste of police resources.

Released yesterday, Statistics Canada's annual snapshot of crime is
for the most part heartening. The 2.36 million criminal incidents
reported to police last year -- exclusive of drug or traffic offences
- -- fell by 5 per cent in 1999, the eighth consecutive annual drop.

Violent crime was down by 2 per cent, while property offences fell
still further -- a 6-per-cent drop, continuing a trend that began in
1991, when crime in most categories peaked.

Despite popular perception, youth crime also dropped in 1999, with 7
per cent fewer charges laid against law breakers aged 12 to 17, as
compared to 1998. Among boys, the drop was 5 per cent; among girls, 6
per cent.

The number of reported drug offences prosecuted under the Controlled
Drugs and Substances Act, meanwhile, rose sharply across the country
in 1999.

Cocaine arrests fell by 3 per cent, and heroin arrests by 1 per cent.
But a 16-per-cent increase in charges involving cannabis contributed
to a 12-per-cent increase in drug offences, for a total of slightly
less than 80,000.

Some of those cannabis charges -- three-quarters of the drug total --
arose from the cultivation of marijuana, which has become a huge
export trade, notably in British Columbia and Quebec. Canada-wide,
cultivation charges have soared sixfold since 1989.

But two-thirds of the cannabis charges laid last year involved simple
possession. And cannabis smoking is clearly more prevalent than the
numbers indicate. Police in many jurisdictions routinely seize small
amounts of pot and toss it away with a warning.

Saskatchewan had the highest crime rate in Canada last year,
Newfoundland the lowest.

Robust economic conditions, community policing, a decline in the use
of crack cocaine, and tougher sentencing are all cited as explanations
for the shrunken crime tally. The most compelling factor, however, is
perhaps demographic: A diminished pool of young people aged 15 to 24,
the group likeliest to run afoul of the law.

Long-term trends offer a slightly different picture. Violent crime in
Canada is still 5 per cent higher than a decade ago, and 57 per cent
greater than 20 years ago.

And last year's decline was not uniform. All four Atlantic provinces,
plus Yukon, reported an increased number of reported Criminal Code
offences.

Violent crime per capita remained most prevalent in Saskatchewan and
Manitoba, despite a small drop in both provinces, indicative of the
poverty among natives. Quebec recorded the lowest violent-crime rate.

There were 536 homicides in 1999, coast to coast, 22 fewer than in
1998, signalling the lowest rate per 100,000 Canadians since 1967.
British Columbia had the highest homicide rate among the provinces,
with 110 killings.

The number of reported sexual assaults fell by 7 per cent last year,
another trend visible for several years, while the use of firearms was
down as well. Just 4 per cent of violent crimes last year involved a
gun.

Statistic Canada's figures are necessarily incomplete since they are
based on the number of offences reported to police. Current
demographic trends, too, could shift, criminologists warn.

Last year's overall reduction in crime was led by hefty declines in
the three biggest provinces -- 7.8 per cent in Quebec, 7.4 per cent in
Ontario and 4.9 per cent in British Columbia.

And for the second consecutive year, crime declined in each of the
country's nine biggest cities, led by Ottawa (15 per cent) and Quebec
City (10 per cent).

The fast-growing Greater Toronto Area saw crime fall by almost 8 per
cent, making it one of the safest places to live in Canada.

Among the other Statscan highlights:

The 5-per-cent drop in the number of young people charged with a
violent offence in 1999 marks the fourth consecutive decline, the
largest year-over-year drop since the Young Offenders Act was
introduced in 1984. Young people also committed 11 per cent fewer
property offences.

The impaired-driving rate -- 73,148 people charged -- remained stable.