Canadian crime rate down 7 percent in 2007

OTTAWA, July 17 (UPI) -- Canada's national crime rate fell 7 percent in 2007, the third consecutive annual decline, Statistics Canada reported from Ottawa Thursday.

Police reported 594 homicides throughout the country in 2007, down slightly from 606 in 2006. Aggravated assault and assault with a weapon remained virtually unchanged in 2007, StatsCan said. Police also reported sexual assaults and robberies last year.

"Robbery committed with a firearm declined 12 percent from the previous year to its lowest point in more than 30 years," the report said, adding some 30,000 robberies overall were reported.

There were slightly more than 230,000 break-ins, of which 60 percent were residential. The rate of residential break-ins fell 9 percent in 2007 and break-ins to businesses fell 8 percent in 2007, the report said.

The youth crime rate declined 1.5 percent in 2007 following a 3.3 percent increase in 2006, StatsCan said.

Among the provinces and territories, Saskatchewan continued to report the highest overall crime rate despite a 3.5 percent decline, as well as the highest rate of violent crime, the figures showed.