The rise of crime in Canada

by Maj (ret'd) CORNELIU. CHISU, CD, PMSC, FEC, CET, P. Eng. Former Member of Parliament Pickering-Scarborough East According to Statistics Canada, Canada's Crime Severity Index (CSI) increased by 4.3 percent in 2023. The violent CSI increased by 4.6 percent, and the non-violent CSI increased by 4.1 percent. These indices have been on the rise since 2014, except for a drop during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the first months of 2023, skyrocketing violent crime is the new reality in every Canadian time zone. In Saskatchewan, First Nations leaders are sounding the alarm on a “crisis” of on-reserve violence. Newfoundland and Labrador is coping with a 20 per cent increase in violent crime severity. In the Yukon Territory, politicians and RCMP officials are reporting crime that is both “more intense” and “increasing dramatically.” A new survey published recently by the Leger and the Association for Canadian Studies found that two thirds of Canadians believe violent crime is visibly worse than it was before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Of respondents, one fifth said they had feared for their safety in the last six months. One in every 20 said they had been personally assaulted. On top of this trend, according to a recent federal report, Crime groups are slowly gaining influence in government agencies. Recent information from the Toronto police says they have arrested seven people in connection with a suspected auto theft ring in which the accused were allegedly conspiring with Service Ontario employees. "As the project progressed, investigators learned that suspects were conspiring with employees at Service Ontario, who were trafficking in driving and vehicle data taken from the Ministry of Transportation database," police said in the release. Police also said that they seized about $1.5 million in proceeds of crime as part of the investigation by the service's major crime unit. The proceeds included numerous luxury vehicles and hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash. According to police, employees at Service Ontario would provide the accused with information about vehicles and drivers, including their addresses. Police alleged that the accused would then steal the vehicles. Service Ontario employees would also provide the accused with fraudulent vehicle registrations and vehicle identification numbers (VIN), police said. Investigators say the accused would place the fraudulent vehicle identification numbers on the stolen vehicles, in a process known as "re-vinning”, to appear legitimate. The fraudulent numbers were linked to the fraudulent registrations, police said. "The vehicles were then sold domestically, to unsuspecting buyers, as used vehicles, or were used to commit other crimes," a press release said. Officers executed 25 search warrants between July and October at residences, commercial garages, Service Ontario branches and vehicles. “Investigators located and recovered several stolen and re-vined vehicles in addition to equipment, tools and electronics utilized by the accused to facilitate the theft of motor vehicles. The search warrants also revealed that the number of people who had their data trafficked by the accused were in the hundreds," police said. However, this event is only the tip of the iceberg. In recent years, the weakening of the quality of public service has made it a fertile ground for various crime groups to profit. Organized crime groups are attempting to “infiltrate” government agencies and departments, a report obtained by Global News suggests. The Criminal Intelligence Service Canada (CISC) reported in 2022 that 29 organized crime groups reportedly have “influence and access” within the public sector, while at least 369 groups are believed to be trying to gain a toehold in government. The “infiltration” is primarily taking place within local and “regional” governments, the CISC suggests, and groups “may be using the benefits of this access for interprovincial or international criminal activities.” Last month, the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP) noted that criminal and extremist groups have attempted to join Canadian law enforcement and security agencies, and suggested some have been successful. The RCMP consider 14 organized crime groups operating in Canada to be a serious threat, the NSICOP report read, who commit a “range of serious crimes” including infiltrating “police and security agencies.” Those 14 “high-level threats” are operating in four provinces, the CISC report reveals: Ontario (6), Quebec (3), British Columbia (4) and Alberta (1). Moreover, where organized crime groups’ motivation is ultimately profit, extremist infiltration has more sinister intentions: access to training, tactics, equipment and weaponry. Despite these revelations, there seems to be little appetite, (or is it lack of interest?) on the part of the Canadian political establishment, to deal with this very dangerous trend. Instead of being tough on crime, it seems that the Canadian judicial system has become complacent. It is not rooting out the causes which are creating this rise in criminality or the intent of it, in Canadian society. The crime rise in our cities and towns is a concern that should not be ignored until it is too late. Otherwise, we will see a degradation in our quality of life that is already quite clear in our neighbor to the south. NOW is the time to act for the benefit of our citizens, so we can continue to enjoy a safe life with our families. Are the politicians listening? Make them do so.