While violent crime has risen in N.L., this criminologist says province still among safest places

Elizabeth Whitten · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 11, 2025 10:18 AM EDT | Last Updated: July 11

While definite types of transgression look to be on the emergence across Newfoundland and Labrador, the province is inactive 1 of the safest places connected world to live, according to one criminologist.

Adrienne Peters, a criminologist and subordinate prof astatine Memorial University, said rising transgression statistic don't really accidental overmuch astir nationalist safety.

"It's important to study the numbers, to look astatine the numbers, to travel them implicit clip and look for patterns. But successful presumption of our mundane safety, we are inactive incredibly safe," Peters told CBC Radio's The St. John's Morning Show.

"Our state of Newfoundland and Labradors is 1 of the safest places, not lone successful our country, but successful the world."

Offences, some convulsive and non-violent, typically impact radical progressive successful definite lifestyles oregon those who deficiency opportunities.

"They're not seeking to wounded different people, they're simply trying to conscionable their needs," said Peters. "But successful presumption of random acts, those are incredibly rare. We don't spot that here."

Warren Silver, an expert with Statistics Canada, said convulsive transgression successful Newfoundland and Labrador has been connected a wide upward inclination since 1998.

"Overall, transgression saw an summation of 38 per cent, convulsive transgression accrued 68 per cent from 1998 to 2023," helium said.

WATCH | Increased reporting, urbanization play into rising transgression rates, says Adrienne Peters:

He said homicide rates accrued by 12 per cent betwixt 2013 and 2023, and transgression harassment has skyrocketed successful the aforesaid period, an summation of 101 per cent. Extortion increased 195 per cent.

"A batch of these things mightiness not person been detected before," said Silver, adding immoderate crimes are being reported more, which tin pb to jumps successful statistics.

A caller Justice Department canvass that recovered radical are feeling little harmless than 5 years agone successful the province. Respondents from 240 towns crossed Newfoundland and Labrador were divided connected whether they felt a ailment lodged against a constabulary serviceman would beryllium treated fairly.

Look beyond numbers

Peters said lower-level, non-violent transgression is staying stable, but determination person been "slight upticks" successful convulsive crime.

She said it's also important to see who is being astir impacted by transgression and underlying factors.

"I deliberation what's truly important to recognize astir transgression is that it's conscionable a practice of our communities and our wide wellness and well-being, however we're doing arsenic a society," Peters said.

There are household systems, acquisition systems, health-care systems, that interaction individuals, she added.

When a idiosyncratic is faced with challenges aboriginal connected successful their life, and those systems don't conscionable their needs, Peters said they whitethorn spot that "trickle" into forms of unit that brings them into the judicial system.

"I would conscionable promote radical to benignant of inquire questions astir what these numbers truly mean and to punctual them that these aren't random incidents," she said. "Individuals are incredibly harmless successful our province."

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