Hamilton police report jump in youth crime rate
Hamilton police saw the number of youth reportedly involved in crimes jump last year, marking the first increase since at least 2018.
A new report found that 1,038 youth between 12 and 17 were allegedly involved in crime in 2022, a nearly 33-per-cent increase from 781 in 2021.
And of those allegedly involved in a crime, 394 were charged, representing a rise of 18 per cent compared to 332 in 2021, according to the report. The remaining 664 youth received an extrajudicial measure, such as a warning from police or a referral to community programming.
While the data was not discussed during last week's police board meeting, police chief Frank Bergen wrote in the report that while the numbers show a more substantial increase from 2021, when compared to the five-year average, it represents an increase of less than two per cent.
Youth crime has not returned to pre-COVID-19 levels," wrote Bergen. Although we are seeing a trend upwards as society as a whole returns to pre-pandemic activities."
By the numbersYouth crime rates were up nearly all across the board compared to 2021, with only the rate of youth reportedly involved in drug offences seeing a more than 32-per-cent drop last year.
The number of youth reportedly involved in violent crimes (such as assault or uttering threats) jumped to 445 from 352 in 2021, marking an increase of around 26 per cent.
The number of youth reportedly involved in property crimes (such as mischief, break and enter, and shoplifting) rose to 291 from 199 in 2021, marking a jump of 46 per cent.
The five most frequent offences were assault, mischief, bail violations and uttering threats.
The offences that saw the largest increases from 2021 were: theft under $5,000 at 160 per cent; trespassing at 128.5 per cent; disputes and disturbances at 114.2 per cent; assault level one at 45.2 per cent; and sexual assault at 44 per cent.
Division Three, which includes the Hamilton Mountain, Ancaster, Dundas and Waterdown saw 430 youth allegedly involved in crime, the highest of the city's three policing divisions.
Fallon Hewitt is a reporter at The Spectator. fhewitt@thespec.com