Winnipeg fights dangerous-city label
By: James Turner | Winnipeg Free Press - March 6, 2009
WINNIPEG being tarred by Maclean's magazine as the second-most dangerous city in Canada based on old statistics isn't sitting well with Mayor Sam Katz or a city crime expert who claims it's just a marketing ploy.
Basing its rankings on Statistics Canada per-capita crime stats from 2007, Maclean's claims Saskatoon is the most dangerous city in the country, with Winnipeg, Regina, Prince George, B.C. and Edmonton following behind.
The magazine gave Saskatoon an overall crime score of 163.23 "as a percentage difference from the national rate."
Winnipeg's crime score was 152.98 per cent, followed by Regina (135.74 per cent), Prince George (126.95 per cent) and Edmonton (110.36 per cent).
Caledon, Ont. was named the safest city, followed by Oromocto, N.B.; Levis, Que.; Maskoutains MRC, Que.; and Halton Region, Ont.
Digging deeper into the almost two-year-old numbers, however, the reality is that Winnipeg's ranking as a top-three dangerous place is skewed by how Statistics Canada reports data on auto thefts and the types of crime chosen to make up the survey.
University of Manitoba criminologist Rick Linden said the Maclean's ranking is simply a ploy to hawk magazines. "It's Maclean's marketing," Linden said, adding he feels the six categories the magazine chose to include to rank cities on an index was an "arbitrary" decision.
Looking at Winnipeg's total of violent crimes against persons tallied by the magazine - perhaps a more accurate reflection of real danger -- we rank 9th in the country for aggravated assaults, 11th for sexual assaults and an ever-troubling third for homicides within city limits.
The majority of actual homicides, however are unpredictable, unpremeditated events often influenced by drug and alcohol consumption.
Winnipeg's #2 ranking also has a great deal to do with a long-term policy by Statistics Canada to blend actual and attempted auto theft numbers into one.
By doing so, Winnipeg's auto-theft rate is a staggering 323.72 per cent above the national average, Maclean's says.
Because of this, the overall picture of crime in the city ramps steeply upward.
Auto-theft investigators and city criminologists have long called for Statistics Canada to separate the auto theft numbers in order to paint a more accurate picture.
While Winnipeg police wouldn't comment on the Maclean's ranking, the supervising sergeant of the stolen auto unit said Thursday that car theft in the city is at an all-time low.
"We've seen reductions now for 28 straight months compared to the previous year," Sgt. Doug Safioles said. Winnipeg's worst year for auto theft was in 2004. Since the introduction of the Winnipeg Auto Theft Suppression Strategy in 2005, the numbers have been steadily dropping.
In comparison, in 2006 Winnipeg saw an average of 23 actual thefts and 15 attempts per day, he said.
Katz said Thursday that he wouldn't say it was right or wrong how Maclean's chose to arrive at their conclusions. "I think that there would be many who would say that it is not," Katz said.
"The bottom line for me as mayor is that we have work to do," he said.
Katz pointed to a recent Maclean's article that lauded the city for making great strides in attacking crime.
"And we are making significant strides," he said. "We're seeing good things happening."
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-- with file from Canwest News Services
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