A local defence lawyer is asking the public to carefully consider the proliferation of social media posts related to criminal activity which are fueling the perception that crime is on the rise.
Bob Buckingham says posts related to shoplifting and other minor crimes gain a lot of attention, but don’t always tell the full story.
Buckingham told VOCM Open Line with Brian Callahan they fuel a public conversation that requires greater scrutiny and perspective.
The crime severity index for St. John’s for 2025 (Statistics Canada)
“I’m asking the public…start looking behind the headlines and start thinking about how this is affecting how you’re thinking. And look at real statistics, crime is going down, and if crime is going down, why are we having this call from the public and our politicians, to be harder on crime? It’s not making any sense.”
According to Statistics Canada’s Crime Severity Index for 2025, the overall crime rate in St. John’s was down by 2.4 per cent over the previous year, while violent crime was up marginally by less than 1 per cent. Non-violent crime was down by close to 4 per cent.
