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th ei fp .c a Th e IF P -H al to n H ill s | T hu rs da y, S ep te m be r 5, 20 19 | 8 out that, for the vast major- ity of these homicides, the suspect arrested was a friend, domestic partner or relative of the victim. Other recent non-fatal violent incidents in Halton have included a tow-truck driver struck by a vehicle on Aug. 27 in Oakville, a stabbing in an Oakville Swiss Chalet parking lot on Aug. 22, a stabbing in a Burlington apartment on Aug. 25 and shots fired at a Burlington home on Aug. 10. With the exception of the shooting, an arrest has been made in each of these incidents or a suspect has been located. Although crime statis- tics are not currently avail- able for 2019 a report pre- sented to the Halton police board found that, despite the overall crime rate in Halton dropping in 2018, vi- olent crime was on the in- crease. The report featured da- ta obtained by the Niche re- cords management system and presented an overview of crime statistics in Hal- ton from January to June 2018. It noted that while there were 35 more criminal inci- dents in 2018 (5,666) than during the same period in 2017 (5,631), overall this re- presented a 1.7 per cent de- crease in the crime rate when regional population growth was taken into ac- count. In a breakdown of the different types of crime, the report noted that vio- lent crime, which includes various forms of assault, robbery and attempted murder, was up 9.8 per cent, to 1,150 incidents in 2018, from 1,047 incidents in 2017. The report noted this represents a violent crime rate increase of 7.3 per cent when population growth is considered. Despite this, Tanner noted at the time that the overall message in the re- port was a positive one for Halton. "Matching the pattern seen across much of the western world, crime rates have declined since the early 1990s and, as of 2017, remained close to the low- est levels experienced in Halton's history," said Tan- ner. "Recently released data from Statistics Canada in- dicates that Halton's 2017 crime rate was lower than every major police service in Ontario." STORY BEHIND THE STORY: In the wake of a series of homicides and violent crimes in Halton we wanted to find out if violence in the region is on the increase. To find this out we looked at the most recent homicides as well as Halton homicides dating back to 2013. We also examined crime statistics from previous years. NEWS Continued from page 4 SUSPECTS ARRESTED OFTEN A FRIEND, DOMESTIC PARTNER OR RELATIVE OF VICTIM Torstar graphic H al to n H om ic id es 2019 2018 2017 201616 2015 201416 2013 3 2 3 1 2 1 1 Location: Living Hope Alliance Church 290 Main St South Call for a ride: 647-385-9444 For more info call: 905-873-0249 Tuesday Mornings at 10am Desserts, Music, Sharing and it's FREE Tuesday Mornings at 10am Gospel Music & Hymn Sing Come meet new Seniors & Sing, Sing, Sing!!! A L L IANC E CHURCH Living Hope Visit georgetownsoccerclub.com today for details and to register! Indoor house league is available for recreational players U5 (born in 2015) to U18 (born in 2002). This fun, affordable league runs from the beginning of November to the end of February 2020 at the Dufferin Centre in Acton. REGISTER NOW FOR INDOOR SOCCER! REP TRYOUTS - 2019 - 20 SEASON U8-U12 Rep Team ID Day Sept 8th U13 & older Rep Tryouts Sept 21st & 22nd at TSP.