Canadian police presence shrinks

OTTAWA, Dec. 13 (UPI) -- The number of police officers declined on a per-capita basis in Canada in the past year, Statistics Canada reported Tuesday.

Per 100,000 people, there was a 1 percent decrease in the number of police officers, although 188 new officers went to work as the population growth outpaced staffing, the agency said.

As of mid-May, there were 69,438 police officers in the country, slowing an upward trend in the past decade, StatsCan said.

Women composed about 20 percent of all police officers in 2011, compared with 2 percent 30 years ago, the agency said.

As for crime-solving, the clearance rate rose for the seventh consecutive year in 2010, to 39 percent.

Both the volume and severity of police-reported crime have been falling in the country in recent years, the report said.

The agency said the cost of policing rose for a 14th consecutive year in 2010, up 1 percent to $12.6 billion.