While the rate fell provincially, in Vancouver it remained much higher at 2.41 per 100,000 people, largely due due to the number of gang-related slayings. There were 55 homicides in Vancouver last year, 19 of which were gang-related. That's about one-third of the total, significantly higher than the national ratio of one in five homicides being gang related.*
Corp. Dale Carr, spokesman for the Lower Mainland's Integrated Homicide Investigation Team, said gang-related homicides take more time and money to investigate, and are less likely to be solved by police.
Police solve only 40 per cent of gang-related homicide investigations, compared with 80 per cent of domestic and other homicides, Carr said.
"It is no secret that the drugs and organized crime files are a lot more complex."
Lies, damn lies... and statistics
Drugs... the victimless crime...
