Pubdate: Thu, 23 Jul 2009 Source: Abbotsford News (CN BC) Copyright: 2009 Abbotsford News Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/BkAJKrUD Website: http://www.abbynews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1155 MURDER CAPITAL MONIKER A MISNOMER No city should have to be labelled the "Murder Capital of Canada," especially considering that the name is a misnomer. It is not a title bestowed by Statistics Canada after analyzing the number of homicides in cities and regions in relation to population. Rather, it is a label given by the media as it reviews these stats. The title might just as easily be given to the area with the most murders, regardless of population. Or to the city, and not the CMA - such as Pitt Meadows - whose three homicides with 16,800 population gives it an alarming homicide rate. The rate of homicides per 100,000 population is not calculated by city, but rather by census metropolitan area (CMA), which in our case is a grouping of Abbotsford and Mission. The five murders in Mission, relative to its small population, brings the homicide rate for this CMA up dramatically. What's more, the victims are mostly those involved in organized crime - - people whose chosen path put them in danger. Average citizens who don't get caught up in the underground world of illicit drugs and grow-ops need not feel less safe. That said, everyone who lives in the Abbotsford area is aware of the gang violence that has rocked the community. With the targeted killings have come other non-fatal woundings, drive-bys where houses and vehicles are shot up, and other brazen acts of violence. So it is good to hear that the Abbotsford Police have made suppressing gang violence their number one priority. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard R Smith Jr