The most dangerous cities in Canada - A Maclean's exclusive - Page 2

drew · #21 Posted **Mar 14, 2008, 2:23 AM**

I think that it is questionable that they included "auto theft" as one of the basis points of declaring the "most" dangerous cities in Canada.

These stats alone would automatically place Winnipeg, Regina and Saskatoon in the top 10. The conspiracy theorist in me might point out that the auto theft stats could have been cherry picked in order to suit some editors pre-conceived notions of dangerous cities in Canada.

Far fetched? Maybe, but it doesn't dispute the fact in my mind that auto theft and danger are certainly not directly related.

flatlander · #22 Posted **Mar 14, 2008, 2:42 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by drew

I think that it is questionable that they included "auto theft" as one of the basis points of declaring the "most" dangerous cities in Canada.

These stats alone would automatically place Winnipeg, Regina and Saskatoon in the top 10. The conspiracy theorist in me might point out that the auto theft stats could have been cherry picked in order to suit some editors pre-conceived notions of dangerous cities in Canada.

Far fetched? Maybe, but it doesn't dispute the fact in my mind that auto theft and danger are certainly not directly related.

I used to agree until people started trying to run down pedestrians.

Anti theft devices should be legislated. Standard equipment. If every car came with one from the factory the price would decrease substantially. Unfortunately car companies make money off every car stolen.

Andy6 · #23 Posted **Mar 14, 2008, 2:44 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by drew

I think that it is questionable that they included "auto theft" as one of the basis points of declaring the "most" dangerous cities in Canada.

These stats alone would automatically place Winnipeg, Regina and Saskatoon in the top 10. The conspiracy theorist in me might point out that the auto theft stats could have been cherry picked in order to suit some editors pre-conceived notions of dangerous cities in Canada.

Far fetched? Maybe, but it doesn't dispute the fact in my mind that auto theft and danger are certainly not directly related.

The average person may well be more likely to be killed by joyriding stoned teens than by their mugger pals in a dark alley. Don't know for sure but the dangers associated with kids stealing cars are probably fairly significant.

Mayor Quimby · #24 Posted **Mar 14, 2008, 3:01 AM**

Let's not forget car jacking falls into that category as well.

Mayor Quimby · #25 Posted **Mar 14, 2008, 3:02 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andy6

What I think it's saying is that Winnipeg's and Regina's urban underclasses constitute a larger proportion of those cities' total populations than Toronto's urban underclass does. My impression is that there are (proportionately) far more gangland-style shooting deaths in Toronto, while the murders in Winnipeg tend to be knifings that occur when fights break out at drunken parties.

Does it really matter, how one gets murdered?

Andy6 · #26 Posted **Mar 14, 2008, 3:39 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mayor Quimby

Does it really matter, how one gets murdered?

I would think that it would to the murderee, yes. Also, where killings occur in a way that is inherently dangerous to "innocent" parties, that is a concern. In Toronto, bullets are whizzing around all over the place; two innocent bystanders have been killed this way on major (non-"dangerous") downtown streets in the last couple of months. In Winnipeg, the staggering drunks knifing each other at some party on [select one: Spence/Home/Langside] at 3AM on Sunday morning aren't really an equivalent public menace.

LordMandeep · #27 Posted **Mar 14, 2008, 4:02 AM**

It is all how you look at this.
You can't compare raw numbers. If lets say a city of 1 million has 10000 cars stolen while a city of 100,000 has 2000 cars stolen. You go, that big city is dangerous, yet stats show you are twice as likely to get your car stolen in the smaller then the bigger one.

However rates are deceiving. In my dad's village in India of 2000 people, 2 people were murdered over a dispute of land. That makes the murder rate 50/per 100,000. Truth was that was the first murder since my great uncle murdered someone almost 50 years before. Yes he murdered someone and served 7 years...

drew · #28 Posted **Mar 14, 2008, 5:14 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andy6

The average person may well be more likely to be killed by joyriding stoned teens than by their mugger pals in a dark alley. Don't know for sure but the dangers associated with kids stealing cars are probably fairly significant.

The average person is more likely to be killed or injured just driving to work, whether there are joy riding teens around or not.

There are "dangerous" aspects of car theft to be sure, but the crime itself does not a dangerous city make.

Quote:

Let's not forget car jacking falls into that category as well.

I don't know about Regina, but "jacking cars" happens so rarely in Winnipeg, I can't even remember the last time it happened.

bimbamboom · #29 Posted **Mar 14, 2008, 2:31 PM**

The top 5 cities all have large native populations. Enough said.

1ajs · #30 Posted **Mar 14, 2008, 2:34 PM**

whens that issue coming out apparently theres a thing on my neighborhood in there the 4th poorest neighborhood in canada

Greco Roman · #31 Posted **Mar 14, 2008, 2:41 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by bimbamboom

The top 5 cities all have large native populations. Enough said.

Have there been any studies conducted to show that cities with large aborigional populations do indeed have higher crime rates?

Mayor Quimby · #32 Posted **Mar 14, 2008, 4:10 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greco Roman

Have there been any studies conducted to show that cities with large aborigional populations do indeed have higher crime rates?

No, it's the Greeks and the Italians causing all the trouble with their mafias, no wait its the Asians and there triads, no its the blacks and there street gangs. Ah hell, let's just blame the Dutch.

Markus41 · #33 Posted **Mar 14, 2008, 4:25 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mayor Quimby

No, it's the Greeks and the Italians causing all the trouble with their mafias, no wait its the Asians and there triads, no its the blacks and there street gangs. Ah hell, let's just blame the Dutch.

Can you prove that there is no correlation between high aborigional populations and high crime rates? Of course it isn't just aborigionals that cause crime, but I would bet that these top five cities do have issues with aborigionals and crime rates. I would tend to think there might be, as I live in one of those top five crime ridden cities.

Mayor Quimby · #34 Posted **Mar 14, 2008, 4:28 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Markus41

Can you prove that there is no correlation between high aborigional populations and high crime rates? Of course it isn't just aborigionals that cause crime, but I would bet that these top five cities do have issues with aborigionals and crime rates.

No way it's the Dutch.

Markus41 · #35 Posted **Mar 14, 2008, 4:30 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mayor Quimby

No way it's the Dutch.

You do understand that you are not a funny person, right? You are just making yourself out to be a real idiot.

Mayor Quimby · #36 Posted **Mar 14, 2008, 4:33 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Markus41

You do understand that you are not a funny person, right? You are just making yourself out to be a real idiot.

Ok, but people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

eemy · #37 Posted **Mar 14, 2008, 4:34 PM**

You have to be careful about confounding variables. While I won't deny that crime rate might correlate with aboriginal population, that doesn't mean that there is a high crime rate because of aboriginals. I suspect that poverty, alcoholism, and drug addiction are probably large factors affecting the crime rate, all of which have higher incidence within aboriginal communities. Maybe it seems like a minor detail, but it's an important difference.

Markus41 · #38 Posted **Mar 14, 2008, 4:35 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mayor Quimby

Ok, but people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

I going to go out on a limb and guess that you are native. My apologies if I have offended you, however people are allowed to express their points of view.

Mayor Quimby · #39 Posted **Mar 14, 2008, 4:37 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeremy_haak

You have to be careful about confounding variables. While I won't deny that crime rate might correlate with aboriginal population, that doesn't mean that there is a high crime rate because of aboriginals. I suspect that poverty, alcoholism, and drug addiction are probably large factors affecting the crime rate, all of which have higher incidence within aboriginal communities. Maybe it seems like a minor detail, but it's an important difference.

DING DING DING DING !!!!!

We have a winner, someone got my point.

Mayor Quimby · #40 Posted **Mar 14, 2008, 4:51 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Markus41

I going to go out on a limb and guess that you are native. My apologies if I have offended you, however people are allowed to express their points of view.

Yes, and people are allowed to criticize it, dissect it, ridicule it and reject it.

As for the other stuff, my ethnicity, or lack of one, has no bearing on anything. I am Canadian, born and raised here.