The issue of crime has been political since the creation of the very first police force.
People just want to feel safe.
The TV show The Wire was perhaps the best at exploring crime and the political forces behind crime statistics. Episodes would show how cops would do anything to have a serious crime like a homicide shifted to another jurisdiction or be downgraded or shown as having been dealt with. This was because of the political forces above them who would use those stats for political ends in things like city elections. (We saw something similar play out in Burnaby during the 2018 civic election when Mike Hurley and Derek Corrigan duked it out over who was tougher on crime.)
The Wire (set in the U.S. city of Baltimore) was fiction based on reality.
In Canada, the reality behind crime statistics has changed and that means we should likely see some sort of increase in violent crime when or if Burnaby crime statistics are released to the public for the first quarter of 2019.
That’s because of a new Statistics Canada reporting requirement which is going to impact police data across the country in a significant way.
According to a story by the Canadian Press, the “federal agency announced revisions to its Uniform Crime Reporting Survey last year, following national media attention and police reviews of the use of the ‘unfounded’ designation for sexual assaults. The changes took effect Jan. 1 and mean that ‘founded’ occurrences now include offences where there may be no evidence to substantiate that an incident took place, but there is also no credible evidence to confirm it didn't happen. Previously, offences that could not be substantiated with evidence were not included in a city's crime statistics.”
The “national media attention” the CP story references is the incredible reporting done by Robyn Doolittle of the Globe and Mail.
Surrey has seen a significant increase in violent crime in the first quarter of 2019 and it’s partly being blamed on the designation change.
“Surrey RCMP say it's too early to fully assess the impact of the changes on crime statistics, but its analysis shows that some crime types are impacted more than others including assaults, uttering threats and shoplifting,” said the CP story. “In the first quarter of 2019, total Criminal Code offences increased four per cent in Surrey compared with the first quarter of 2018, while violent crime jumped 43 per cent with notable increases in robberies, sexual offences and assaults.”
Violent crime jumping 43 per cent when the current Surrey mayor was elected partly due to a “tough on crime” agenda will shine a blazing-hot spotlight on city hall, which is why you see the Surrey RCMP highlighting the designation change – although it should be noted that the police aren’t blaming the spike completely on the change.
"We don't want to completely write off everything and just say, 'Oh, don't worry about it. It's because of the change,'” Surrey RCMP Cpl. Elenore Sturko told CP. "Violent crime in Surrey is something that is a priority and is remaining a priority for us. But understandably, some of this is as a result of the (Uniform Crime Reporting Survey) changes."
According to the CP story, “Statistics Canada has said that a victim-centred approach to recording crimes is emerging. The approach puts forth that, unless there is concrete evidence to prove the crime did not happen, it should be believed that the crime occurred.”
Robert Gordon, a Simon Fraser University criminology professor, told CP it will be impossible to compare the numbers with previous years.
"Basically, the clock stopped Dec. 31 and it restarted under a new reporting and categorization regime Jan. 1," Gordon told CP, adding that changes reflect a major revision to the way police forces count crimes. Sexual assault and family violence have long been considered to be under-reported, and this change aims to address that, he says.
“For example, a complainant who tells police they were assaulted but refuses to proceed with the investigation will now be included in the crime numbers, as will a third party who reports child abuse but the child can't or won't report the crime,” said the CP story.
"All these things where the victim says, 'Ah, I don't want to bother,' you should still be recording them because they are actually crime incidents,” said Gordon. “It's important to keep an account of those."
So if we ever get those first-quarter crime results for Burnaby, don’t be surprised if violent crime numbers jump. It doesn't mean our city has become more violent - it's just that the numbers will finally show a truer accounting of such heinous crimes as sexual assault.
You can follow Chris Campbell on Twitter @shinebox44.
