im starting to become quite worried about the homicide rate in calgary this year (24) i know 2 of those homicides were police related,is this trend something to be concerned about?as im moving to okotoks next year and i always thought i was moving to a nice place??

To get to Downtown Calgary you are a good 50 mins from Okotoks. From the news that I remember most of those are kind of NE Calgary and Downtown.

If you are looking for crime rates wouldnt you be better trying to find the statistics for Okotoks

I thought all those in Okotoks say this trip only takes 20 mins

99.99% of Calgarians do not concern themselves with issues of whether they will be murdered. Living in Okotoks, you may wish to commit suicide, but worrying about being murdered will not be an issue.

Have you visited Calgary in the last 3 years? If you have, then nothing of great significance (in a "will I be murdered" sense) has changed during this time. If you felt safe during your visit, you will feel safe now.

Was this aimed at me ??? Yes I am in Calgary every weekend for soccer

Your points are exactly what I am saying

I live in downtown calgary, I walk around DT Calgary at all times of the day, I know a LOT of the 'fringe' dwellers (homeless, addicts, working girls, small scale dealers). Do I feel a heightened sense of danger here? NO, as many have suggested murders in Calgary are much more 'targeted'.

Exactly.

Couldn't have put it better myself!! Especially the observation about Okotoks!

I would add to the OP that Officer involved shootings are not homicides. If you replicate the actions of those that have been shot by the police, then you would be right to be concerned!

its really okotoks as such im worried about,but ive spent a lot of time in calgary and okotoks over the last 6 years and it seems quite scary how its spreading quite quick and just hope it doesnt spread outwards

[QUOTE=Little D;8160330

I would add to the OP that Officer involved shootings are not homicides. If you replicate the actions of those that have been shot by the police, then you would be right to be concerned![/QUOTE]

two of those are being classed as homicides,even though the investigators have said there was no criminal wrongdoing

Have you bothered to read other peoples replies??? Have you taken time to RESEARCH the victim/offender relationships in these 'homocides'.

Once again 99% of Homocides in Calgary are TARGETED KILLINGS.

We are perceiving there to be a little more crime here in Okotoks than we did when we moved here - maybe we're just a bit more switched onto it now than we were in the early months when we had other things on our minds. Maybe it's just a sign of a growing town. A little more graffiti than we saw before but still next to none of it around, a few instances of petty vandalism, the occasional grow op discovered, that sort of thing.

These things said, our perceived level of threat here in Okotoks is next to zero - we honestly don't think about it from one day to the next. Likewise in almost every part of Calgary that we visit.

We were in the UK back in April...our perception (justified or not) that we could be the victims of crime there was far greater. It's sensible to exercise caution but maybe you are seeing more reason for concern than is borne out by the experiences of most of us here?

Eamonn & Janet.

OP...the title of this thread is misleading and pretty ill-informed. The homicide rate is not rising and it's not 'a trend'. The homicide rate doesn't really change very much in Calgary. It's actually pretty steady every year, between 20 and 30 a year. It's actually a relatively low murder rate for a big city, and - as has already been said - nearly all of these homicides are domestic/family violence, drug or gang related. You have nothing to worry about unless you have an unstable family member who doesn't like you very much or you're in competition with the local gangs over grow ops and crack sales. The latest homicide this week for example: son beats father to death in the family home during an argument. Others include: mother strangles wayward daughter, guy kills kids and tries to kill his wife. Last week it was: guy goes crazy and kills his kids and tries to kill wife etc. These aren't random incidents. Calgary is still the safest place I've been in the world and that's a big reason I now call it home. I used to love living downtown and never felt unsafe. It's so nice to be able to sit in a pub or walk home without having to look over your shoulder like I used to have to in the UK. On a separate note, outlying places like Okotoks and Chestermere are actually known as favourite spots for gang members to live and many are living there right now. There have been a few high profile incidents and major drugs/weapons busts in these places too, so they're not perfect either.

This really is non issue for your future move.

There is crime and murders as you have highlighted - the streets aren't made of gold - but there isn't that perceived feeling that anyone could be a victim at anytime like we use to have living in South London.

The homocides you refer to are gang and drug related. Calgarians I work with have the attitude that if the criminals kill each other its good thing!!

In Okotoks you could probably leave your doors unlocked.

Mostly gang and electricity theft related I assume, and every now and again someone loses it and kills their family.

im not expecting the streets to be paved with gold,im an ex royal marine and policeman and ive seen gang culture grow in many places in the world,and most of the time its in the nicest of places,it spreads like thunder and i would dare to say many of calgarys "high profile gangsters" live in nice,quiet places like okotoks. In 2007 i was staying in the 5 hotel in downtown and i come in late from being at a club and was about 200 yards from a drive by shooting and although im no fool in knowing it will have been a targeted "hit",in my experience it isnt rare for an innocent person to get caught up in these incidents.and im not 100 % sure but didnt calgary have the nations highest metro rate for gang related slayings last year?and was a 2% rise on the year before.unfortunately being an ex policeman iv tended to look at these factors more and they weigh on my mind.and my original question was "should i be worried?" hence i wanted an opinion from people who are living there if they have seen a change where they live.ive never felt "in danger" on my travels in calgary but the fact i have kids and there future will be in calgary/okotoks it is of concern to me.sorry about the long reply but i just hate when people turn a simple question into a sarcastic reply like you shouldnt have dared to ask it.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Ca...995/story.html