Churchill High School Mr.

Vissers
November 14, 2017
Name: ______________________________

Graphing the Crime Rate in Canada

1. Read the news article below. As you read, ANNOTATE, questions or important information you
come across and find interesting in the margins

Violent crime surges in Canada for the first time in 12 years

Police-reported crime in Canada went up last year for the first time in over a
decade, Statistics Canada revealed on Wednesday, with particularly startling upswings
in violent crime across the country.
The number of attempted murders alone was up 22 per cent year-over-year, the
agency said.
Canada’s Crime Severity Index (CSI) and the overall crime rate both grew
between 2014 and 2015, with the CSI (an index that measures both the volume and
severity of police-reported crime) up 5 per cent.
The rise in the CSI was primarily a result of a sharp increase in incidents of
fraud, breaking and entering, robbery and homicide, according to Statistics Canada.
Criminal Code violations “specific to the use, discharge and pointing of firearms”
were, like attempted murders, up by around 22 per cent.
There were 15 per cent more homicides, 5 per cent more robberies, 4 per cent
more sexual assaults, and 3 per cent more major assaults reported to police in 2015
than in the previous year.
Alberta bore the brunt of the increases, with the CSI in that specific province
jumping by 18 per cent. That’s the largest spike seen in any province or territory since
at least 2010.
The other major oil-producing provinces, including Saskatchewan and
Newfoundland and Labrador, also experienced significant increases in property crime
as their economies struggled with the falling price of oil.

-Global News. 2015

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 2. What does the CSI stand for?

______________________________________________________________________________

3. What was the rise in CSI a result of?

______________________________________________________________________________

4. Which province’s CSI increased the most?

______________________________________________________________________________

Graphing Data:

Create a graph on the attached piece of chart paper, using the following data table. Only use the YEAR
(X-Axis) and the TOTAL (Y-Axis) from the year 2000 – 2015; and remember to label each axis.

TITLE

TOTAL

Year Label

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Data Table:

Police Reported Crime Rates, Canada, 2000-2015

Year Total Violent crimes Property crimes Other crimes

rate per 100,000 population
2000 7,610 996 4,081 2,534
2001 7,592 995 4,004 2,593
2002 7,516 980 3,976 2,560
2003 7,773 978 4,125 2,670
2004 7,601 957 3,976 2,668
2005 7,326 962 3,744 2,620
2006 7,246 968 3,605 2,673
2007 6,908 952 3,335 2,621
2008 6,632 938 3,096 2,598
2009 6,462 926 3,005 2,531
2010 6,160 907 2,802 2,451
2011 5,780 869 2,586 2,324
2012 5,633 842 2,521 2,270
2013 5,196 767 2,344 2,085
2014 5,047 734 2,321 1,992
2015 5,199 749 2,429 2,021
Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Uniform Crime
Reporting Survey.

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Graph Interpretation

Once you have completed making your graph, answer the following:

1. In what year was the crime rate the highest? ___________________

2. Did the crime rate increase or decrease between 2002 – 2003? ______________________

3. What year was crime at its lowest in Canada? _________________

4. In 1999, there were 971 violent crimes per ___________________ people in Canada.

5. Why do you think crime went up again in 2015?

_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
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Opinion Section

6. Do you think crime will continue to go up in the coming years? Why or why not?

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