OTTAWA—Despite the falling crime rate over the past decade and an austerity agenda, Prime Minister Stephen Harper promised more tough-on-crime bills because, he said Wednesday, Canadians tell his government it’s a priority.

In brief opening remarks to the Conservative caucus, Harper repeated familiar messages about the “fragile” economy being “job one.”

He said his government will focus “ever more tightly on four priorities that Canadians care most about: their families, the safety of our streets and communities, their pride in being a citizen of this country, and their personal financial security.”

The government has already toughened penalties for child predators, the prime minister said.

Without referring to any specific legislative plans, Harper said the criminal justice system “is still too slow.”

“Too many Canadians are still victims of crime. Despite years of unceasing effort, there remain many areas requiring determined action in our criminal justice system. When it comes to keeping our streets and communities safe, we will not rest for there is much more to be done.”

Statistics Canada reports that overall volume of police-reported crime and the severity of crime continued on a long-term downward trend. Both measures declined six per cent in 2011 from 2010.

Despite higher rates of victimization, younger Canadians were more satisfied with their personal safety from crime than older Canadians, says Statistics Canada.

In 2009, 94 per cent of Canadians aged 15 to 24 said they felt very or somewhat satisfied with their personal safety, compared with 90 per cent of Canadians aged 65 and older.

According to the data collection agency, most Canadians said they felt safe at night, with about 83 per cent saying they weren’t at all worried when home alone in the evening. Of those who walked alone in their neighbourhood at night, 90 per cent said they felt safe doing so.

One piece of justice legislation that was shelved last year — temporarily at least — was the Internet surveillance bill. Public Safety Minister Vic Toews’ caused an uproar after slamming its critics as sympathetic to child pornographers.

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Toews hosted a mid-January meeting in Ottawa to focus on how to bring down policing costs, and emphasized the need for “efficiencies” in police services and community service models.

The meeting heard how in the last 10 years, police spending in Canada rose from $6 billion to $12 billion.

Mark Potter, director general at Public Safety’s law enforcement and policing branch, confirmed to a Commons committee Tuesday that the federal Conservative government, which boosted provincial and territorial police officer recruitment through a special fund initiated in 2008 “currently has no intention of continuing that program.”

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