Crime - by johnny-come-lately

I made my promise to write a journal before I had read the link that Prole had put up in her post. It says most of what I thought I might be able to explain or clarify.
It even mentions the ' elephant in the room '. I am glad that it does because I didn't think I can talk about it without sounding racist. The truth is it is very difficult to talk about it without sounding racist. I do hold that individuals have the ultimate responsibility to address the circumstances they find themselves in. Society can help, but society cannot make you a better person. Your lot in life does not justify breaking the law.

The Globe and Mail's Tenille Bonoguore ( Prole's link ) quotes the following about the elephant:

Saskatchewan stands out for two reasons, he said: It consistently has the highest crime rate, and it has the highest percentage of native Canadians in its justice system.
"What you see are always the same patterns. Crime follows social disadvantage," [ University of Ottawa criminology professor Ron Melchers ] said.
A milieu of social problems — such as deteriorated housing, low education rates, high unemployment, poor health and large numbers of single-parent families — often correlates with high levels of crime, he said.
The true mystery of crime rates, Mr. Melchers said, lies in the communities that have those characteristics but manage to steer away from criminal activity. In those areas, there are probably social projects that are worth investigating.

The fact that Saskatchewan has the highest crime rates is tragic. It would appear that we are not tackling the root causes. The conditions of life for the less fortunate, which in Saskatchewan is primarily the Aboriginal population.
The articles that ran in my paper are as follows ( with a teaser quote ) :

Crime is down, but Regina holds on to dubious honour

...insure work is done with convicted criminals to prevent re-offending once they are released from corrections facilities.

Saskatoon tops violent crime list, police working to lower crime levels

The additional officers are not only law enforcers, but also work with victims and other agencies on "some of the social conditions that create crime," he said, listing poor housing, poverty, lack of business opportunities and racism.
Another area where police are targeting their efforts is enforcing drug laws since "drugs are probably one of the largest drivers for crime," said [Saskatoon Police Service Chief Clive] Weighill.

Sask. posts highest provincial crime rate for ninth year in row

[Industry and Resources Minister Minister Maynard ] Sonntag said Saskatchewan already has the most police officers on a per-capita basis compared to other provinces.

So, we have more police and we are locking up aboriginals more than anyone. And still we are topping the charts. I'm tempted to say that more law enforcement and more incarceration just doesn't cut it.
Are crime rates in the province actually the highest in the country ? No. Crime rates in the north are worse ( Sask - 2,039, NWT - 6,448, Nunavut - 6,764 per 100,000 people ). Is the Aboriginal population in the province, as a percentage of total population, the highest of all. No. The North is higher ( Sask 13.5 % aboriginal vs 50.5 % NWT & 85.2 % Nunavut ). Is poverty higher in Saskatchewan for aboriginals than in the north ? I can't say that it is, can't find the stats on that.
These numbers are calculated from the 2001 Census figures and the Crime Statistics report referenced in the Prole's post. I am just using the numbers for violent crimes, for simplicity sake.
Poverty is not a definition that Stats Canada uses. This posting from 1997 states that poverty definitions have a measure of subjectivity to them and for that reason they are not statistically sound.
They do collect and publish a low income cut-off number. It is widely used to measure poverty in Canada, in spite of Stats Canada's caveat about the number. I can't easily find a good report on poverty with specifics on aboriginals.
A 2005 story by the CBC regarding a study by ' Social Watch ' with the
Canadian section written by an economist with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) says we are not doing so good.

...Ottawa has focused overwhelmingly on economic growth, dramatically limiting its role, and transferring money to the provinces without accountability or conditions.

Here's a Leader-Post story from June of this year regarding a study :
A comparison of large urban, small urban and rural crime rates, 2005 by Joycelyn Francisco and Christian Chenier ( pdf )

... the commonly held assumption that poverty and crime are linked, looking at poverty levels and crime rates in Newfoundland and P.E.I. versus those of Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
"There is poverty in Newfoundland but relatively low crime, compared to Saskatchewan," said [Rosemary] Gartner [, a professor of criminology at the University of Toronto].
The report classifies most First Nations as rural and cites another report, saying on-reserve crime rates were about three times higher than off-reserve rates. Rates of violent crime were seven times higher on reserves, while rates of property crime were 40 per cent higher on reserves.

I think that the numbers for Saskatchewan top the ranking because the provincial government is baffled as to what to do and, until recently didn't have the money to do enough. My solution ? - I don't have one - I am not even sure that I correctly understand the circumstances. I have read that gangs - aboriginal gangs - in Regina are part of the crime problem. These gangs have a presence in the prisons and recruit new members there. My sense is that a good deal of violent crime is within the aboriginal community. My sense is that the general population of Saskatchewan at least suspects that and, sadly, shrugs off the crime statistics as not affecting them and turns their back. Is this a definition of racism ?
I do know that I feel fairly safe, perhaps safer than most people in larger Canadian cities. Regina and Saskatoon are not large cities. I do not know them well and only visit for work and shopping. There are parts of those two cities that I wouldn't go into alone. But those parts are not big parts. There are two other, what we classify as cities, that I would not got into parts of alone.
The balance of the cities in the province, 8 of the 12 ( over 5,000 ), I would walk through alone at any time. It is well to keep in mind that our third largest city has a population tickling the underside of 35,000 people.
One perspective is to consider violent crime in relation to time. Not as valid a comparison as crime events base on population. It can make you feel better, or worse ( it's just to prove one can use statistics to prove any point of view ). In Saskatchewan there is a violent crime every 27 minutes. In Ontario every 6 minutes, in Alberta every 15 minutes, in BC every 10 minutes, in Nunavut every 263 minutes, in Regina every 190 minutes, in Saskatoon every 161 minutes, in Toronto every 14 minutes, in Edmonton every 68 minutes , in Vancouver every 24 minutes .
I feel pretty safe, how about you ?