By Dan Werb, dwerb@health.u HaeSeung Sung ∙ Yingbo Naa ∙ Indhu Rammohana ∙ Jolene Eeuwesa ∙ Ashly Smoke∙  Akwasi Owusu-Bempah, Thomas Kerr,g, and Mohammad Karamouzian

  Background Supervised consumption services (SCS) are effective at preventing overdose mortality. However, their effect on public safety remains contested. We investigated homicide rates in areas near SCS in Toronto. Methods We classified coroner-reported fatal shootings and stabbings (January 1st, 2010 to September 30th 2023) by geographic zone: within 500 m (‘near’), between 500 m and 3 km (‘far’), and beyond 3 km of an SCS (‘out’). We then used Poisson regression to calculate the rate ratio (RR) across zones 18, 36, 48, and 60 months pre vs. post SCS implementation. Finally, we compared spatial homicide incidence prior to and after the date of the implementation of each SCS using interrupted time series (ITS). Findings Overall, 956 homicides occurred, and 590 (62%) were fatal shootings and stabbings. There was no meaningful change in the rate of fatal shootings and stabbings within 3 kms of SCS (near and far zones) after their implementation. However, between 48 and 60 months pos-implementation, we detected an increase in out zones. In an ITS analysis, we observed a reduction in the monthly incidence in near zones and an increase in out zones. Interpretation SCS implementation was not associated with increased homicide rates; instead, we observed a reduction in monthly incidence near SCS. These results may inform drug market activity responses that optimize community health and safety.

The Lancet Regional Health – Americas, Volume 43, 2025. 101022

By Public Safety Canada

The National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking (National Strategy) is a five-year (2019-2024) strategy aiming to strengthen Canada’s response to human trafficking. It follows from the National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking which expired in 2016. The National Strategy is a whole of government endeavour that aligns efforts with the internationally recognized pillars of prevention, protection, prosecution and partnership. Canada has added a fifth pillar, empowerment, to enhance support and services to victims and survivors of human trafficking. The activities under the pillars are the responsibility of many partner departments and agencies. Several partner departments and agencies received funding for activities specific to the National Strategy. These include, Public Safety Canada (PS), the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre (FINTRAC), Women and Gender Equality (WAGE) Canada, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), and Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC). Other departments and agencies supported efforts under the National Strategy with pre-established funding. These partners are the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Global Affairs Canada (GAC), Justice Canada (JUS), and Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC). Additionally, Statistics Canada (StatsCan) receives funding from PS for activities that support the National Strategy, including data collection and research projects.

The purpose of the evaluation was to assess the relevance, effectiveness and efficiency of the National Strategy. The evaluation covered the period from fiscal year 2019-2020 to 2022-2023 and was conducted in accordance with the Treasury Board Policy on Results and the Directive on Results.    

Ottawa: Public Safety Canada 2024. 50p

By Riku Lindqvist · Chiara Lombardini · Leila Suvantola2· Markku Ollikainen

Applying the rational choice model of crime, this study estimates the optimality of sanctions for environmental crimes, the social cost of these crimes and the expected gain to the offender with Finnish court data from 327 criminal cases in the period 2013–2018. Sensitivity analyses are conducted for the optimal fne, the expected gain from the crime and its social cost. The time-lag and uncertainties related to the restoration of the environmental harm are explicitly included in the model and the empirical analysis. The average fne was much lower than the optimal fne even when taking into account the constraint posed by the offenders' wealth and disregarding the time-lag and uncertainties related to the restoration of the environmental harm. The use of prison sentences was also suboptimal. Even when the illegal gain was fully forfeited, the expected gain from the crime to the offender remained positive. Our results suggest a need to increase the cost of punishment by higher fnes and reliable forfeiture of the illegal economic gain. They also point to the importance of systematically estimating both the environmental damage and the illegal gain from the crime as these were available respectively for only 24% (N=79) and 3% (N=11) of all cases.

European Journal of Law and Eco

By Marieke Kluin · Lisa Ansems · Jelle Brands

The public has grown increasingly concerned about environmental issues. However, few studies examine the perceived seriousness of environmental crimes. Those that do tend to focus on US citizens and compare crime seriousness ratings among different types of crimes, rather than examining the factors that shape perceptions of environmental crime seriousness. By employing a vignette survey among Dutch citizens (N=261), the current paper seeks to address this knowledge gap. It focuses on two such factors: (1) whether or not the environmental crime is committed intentionally, and (2) whether or not the environmental crime causes considerable harm. The results show that environmental crimes were perceived as more serious when committed intentionally and when they caused considerable harm. Furthermore, intentions affected perceived seriousness less in case of harm and harm affected perceived seriousness less in case the crime was committed intentionally. Together, these findings enhance our understanding of the factors that shape the perceived seriousness of environmental crimes.

Crime, Law and Social Change (2025) 83:3