Yellowknife (Oct 29/04) - The homicide rate in the NWT continues to be among the highest in the country, says the annual report released by the coroner's office.

With three homicides in the NWT during 2003, the rate was more than four times the national average, according to numbers provided by Statistics Canada.

Kinney: "It's hard to isolate a single reason for the increase in suicides and homicides." - NNSL file photo

Chief Coroner Percy Kinney said the number of homicides in the NWT has increased steadily over the past 10 years.

"We've gone from an average of about one or two a year in the late '90s, to three or four a year now," he said.

The suicide rate in the NWT also remains among the highest in the country, according to the report.

In 2003, 12 NWT residents took their own lives, roughly twice the national average.

"It's hard to isolate a single reason for the increase in suicides and homicides," he said. "But the amount of illegal narcotics in the NWT has increased, which has led to more social problems. That could play an indirect role in the increase."

Alcohol played a major role in deaths investigated by the coroner's office in 2003. All of the homicides and 50 per cent of the suicides involved victims and/or perpetrators who were drinking.

In addition, alcohol was involved in 14 of the 19 accidental deaths during 2003. That included two people who perished from ethanol toxicity, five who froze to death, four who died from blunt head trauma and two who succumbed to hypothermia and drowning.

"Alcohol abuse is an ongoing problem. It's nothing new," Kinney said.

A number of the accidental deaths were a result of snowmobile crashes. In each of the cases, the driver was not wearing a helmet, leading Kinney to renew his calls for territorial legislation governing snowmobile safety.

"It's not rocket science," Kinney said. "You have people racing around on machines that go faster than my car. If you want to reduce the number of deaths by three or four people per year, pass legislation requiring people to wear helmets."

Kinney also urged the territorial government to promote firearm safety to ensure weapons are kept away from minors and in a secure location.

Last year, Kinney examined a dozen gun deaths -- homicides and suicides -- stretching back to 2002 and found 11 involved guns that were left out in the open.