The recent shooting in Quebec City killed 6 people. During the news broadcast this morning, they mentioned how many murders there were there during 2016. Try to guess. The population is a bit over a half million.
0. The last murder in Quebec City was 16 months ago.
That is truly amazing.
I heard that on CBC this morning as well. It’s rather mind-boggling isn’t it? Meanwhile Halifax, with a population of almost 400,000, had 12 homicides in 2016.
I guessed three. Most of the people I have met from QC have been performers - stunt riders, flame eaters, contortionists, and various other physical artists. I figured any population that encouraged, developed and supported physical people would have some sort of murder rate.
My thought was merely that it wouldn’t be interesting enough to bring up if it weren’t 0. Or maybe 1.
Hey, waitaminute.
What if there were, like, 375 attempted murders, but it turns out all you Québécois are incredibly inept?!
“Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.”
that was easy, they dont have guns there
It is a well-known fact that the Montreal Canadiens hockey team, back when it consisted largely of French Canadian Quebecers, had to sign up an English Canadian “enforcer” – the guy you depend on for payback if an opponent starts playing too rough. French Canadians are simply much less violent people, by nature. So they needed a John Ferguson out there on the ice to protect the Tremblays and Richards from the Toronto thugs.
And Halifax is a tough town, by anybody’s standards.
Same reasoning for me. I guessed 0. It had to be that or 1 289, and in the latter case, it would have been in the Pit.
They don’t have guns in many places. Homicide rates are largely unrelated (and often negatively related). Income disparity is the primary predictor.
See previous post with a link to an application where you can play with the numbers:
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=19793322&postcount=14
So, what might be the causes for such a low homicide rate in that city?
The annual number of people who visit the United States’ National Park system is greater than the entire population of the United States itself. Yet the entire system typically experiences about 16 homicides a year. To me that’s completely mind-boggling, because I’ve seen firsthand the types of loonies who are running around in those areas.
Just a WAG, but if I were forced to bet money on the answer I would say that it has mostly to do with the age demographics of the city. The overwhelming majority of predatory crime is committed by males between the ages of 15 and 45. Familial socioeconomic status plays a role as well, but to a lesser extent. If you have an older and more affluent population, you’ll naturally see less criminal activity.
New Orleans also has a population less than 400,000 and had 164 murders in 2015. St. Louis, barely 300,000, had 188 murders. Sounds like you Canucks better start practicing.