City sees sharp rise in knife crimes
Date: Mar 29, 2007 7:30 AM
PUBLICATION: Calgary Herald
DATE: 2007.03.29
EDITION: Final
SECTION: City & Region
PAGE: B8
ILLUSTRATION: Colour Photo: Calgary Herald Archive / While gun crimes
weredown 6.5 per cent in 2006, the number of knife-related offences went
up 12 per cent. ;
BYLINE: Jamie Komarnicki, with files from Sarah Chapman, CalgaryHerald.

SOURCE: Calgary Herald
WORD COUNT: 217

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City sees sharp rise in knife crimes

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The number of knife attacks in Calgary shot up last year, according to
the latest crime statistics, leading police Chief Jack Beaton to
question whether gangs are trading in guns for knives.

Knife-related offences hit 815 last year, up 12 per cent from the 728
offences recorded in 2005.

After a spate of summer shootings last year, police stepped up efforts
to combat gang violence — a campaign that seems to be working, Beaton
said.

Firearm usage decreased by 6.4 per cent last year.

“We seem to have suppressed that (firearms), but then we see the knives
issue go up, so the question is, Have they traded their guns for knives?
We’ve had a lot of knifings in our city over the last couple of years,”
Beaton said.

“It’s not something we want to see. It’s violence in our city that’s
not
acceptable.”

Overall, both weapon usage and weapon attacks causing injury decreased
slightly last year.

But Ward 12 Ald. Ric McIver said sharp increases in knife crimes should
be taken seriously, citing public education and stricter penalties as
possible measures.

“Any good feeling we have about less gun crimes is taken away by knife
crimes,” said McIver, who sits on the police commission. “I take no
comfort in the weapon of choice switching from a gun to a knife.”

Another concerning trend, McIver said, is the number of car thefts,
which skyrocketed by nearly 44 per cent last year.

There were 45 homicide offences in Calgary last year as compared to 39
in 2005. Those figures includes murders, attempted murders, criminal
negligence and other offences causing death.

Beaton said homicides are one of the more “volatile” statistics.

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