Less violence, more theft in 2012

Violent crime in Scarborough so far in 2012. Illustration by Nino Meese-Tamuri.

Scarborough has seen a shift from violent crimes towards theft and robberies in the early months of 2012.

Crime statistics for the beginning of 2012 showed a 17 to 23 per cent decline of violent crimes like murder, assault, and sexual assault compared to numbers from early 2011.

Murders decreased by one in five cases this year. There were also 237 fewer assaults reported.

However, the community experienced more possessions being stolen.

By the numbers

5 – Murder
73 – Sexual assault
779 – Assault
396 – Robbery
402 – Break & enter
217 – Auto theft
30 – Theft over $5,000

There were 396 robberies in 2012, up by 28 per cent from last year’s 309 instances.

Auto theft and thefts of items valued over $5,000 also slightly increased by three to seven per cent, respectively.

Bucking the trend, however, were break-ins, which decreased by 17 per cent to 402.

About this article

By: Nino Meese-Tamuri
Posted: Apr 30 2012 1:37 am
Edition:
Filed under: News