Black Press
There were 357,192 police-reported Criminal Code violations in B.C. in 2012, a decline of two per cent from the previous year, Statistics Canada reports.
B.C.'s crime rate was third in Canada last year, behind Saskatchewan and Manitoba. The lowest rates were in Ontario and Quebec.
Homicide cases dropped from 87 to 71, with 28 of those treated as first-degree murder. The number of police-reported attempted murders rose four per cent to 83.
Property crime was up slightly in 2012, with 217,767 incidents reported. There were 97 arsons reported, an increase of a third from 2011. Break and enters to steal a firearm rose to 119, the latest of a series of increases since 11 such incidents were reported in 2008.
Vehicle thefts have declined by 45 per cent since 2008, with 12,584 reported to police in 2012.