Shootings up 23% as homicides more than doubled last year in Mississauga and Brampton

Homicides in Mississauga and Brampton more than doubled in 2022 compared to the previous year, along with an increase in gun violence, stabbings and criminal code charges.

Those are the numbers according to Peel Regional Police, which released its year-in-review this week along with a breakdown of crime statistics in the region. And while some incidents like motor vehicle fatalities and mental health calls saw smaller increases, the number of homicides took a significant jump.

Police say there were 30 homicide victims in Mississauga and Brampton in 2022, up from 17 in 2021 and 14 in the previous year, making for a 114 per cent increase in homicides.

There were several high-profile homicides and violent incidents last year, including the stabbing of Chandanpreet Kaur while she worked at a Canadian Tire in Mississauga, a Brampton man attacked with a machete in broad daylight, and footage of the alleged murder of a Brampton woman posted online.

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There were also 58 shooting victims reported in both cities last year (an increase of 23 per cent), 210 stabbings (an increase of 27 per cent) and some 42,832 criminal code offences laid for an overall 20 per cent increase from 2021.

Other stats also saw much smaller changes, like 375 pedestrians struck by moving vehicles (up 3 per cent), 37 motor vehicle fatalities (up 9 per cent), and 6,654 mental health violations (down 1 per cent).

Of all the calls police responded to last year, five types of incidents saw the most calls from the public – domestic disputes or family and intimate partner violence, medical assistance, motor vehicle collisions, disturbances, and impaired drivers.

Peel police received some 17,000 calls related to family and intimate partner violence last year for an average of 45 calls per day.

In a message to residents, Chief Nishan Duraiappah says police are developing “new pathways” to deal with non-criminal service to calls, like the  Safe Centre Response Team program that launched in January and has support workers teamed up with officers to help families dealing with intimate partner violence.

“In launching several, more effective, non-traditional and non-police response for calls that require health or human services intervention, we are allowing our frontline officers to focus on responding to high-priority calls and the urgent needs of our community,” Duraiappah said.