Canada's crime rate fell in 2011 to its lowest level since 1972, according to official statistics released Tuesday, but homicide and child sexual abuse rates increased.
The police-reported crime rate, which measures the overall volume of crime, declined 6 percent, or roughly 110,000 incidents, from 2010. There were roughly two million crimes reported in Canada last year.
Canadian police reported 598 homicides in 2011, an increase of 7 percent from 2010, when there were 44 fewer reported. There were about 3,800 instances of sexual offences against children reported by police, an increase of 3 percent from 2010.
To read the official report, released by Statistics Canada, click the thumbnail below.