Hamilton's homicide rate for 2011 is down by nearly half, according to data released today by Statistics Canada.

In 2011, the city recorded seven homicides, a significant decrease from 2010 when there were 12 homicides.

This year, there have been five recorded homicides, says Sgt. Terri-Lynn Collings, a spokesperson for Hamilton Police. Collings also qualifies the 2011 number of seven.

That seven included two police shootings, she said, adding that after an investigation both officers involved in the separate incidents were found to be justified in the use of force.

The decline in Hamilton seems to be part of an overall drop in the murder rate in Ontario. According to Statistics Canada, the province had 28 fewer homicides compared with 2010, reaching its lowest point since 1966.

Clare Freeman, executive director of Interval House, a women's shelter in Hamilton, heralds the drop in the homicide rate as good news. She attributes the decline, in part, to the city's High Risk Domestic Violence Initiative, which was established in 2005 and is led by Hamilton Police Services.

"The homicide rate going down for both men and women is definitely good. We can attribute some of that to the development of a High Risk team," she said.

For Freeman, the strength of the High Risk team is that it's collaborative, allowing the criminal justice system to work with community service providers in determining a woman's risk of harm and to create a program to help protect her.

"The shelters are full," said Freeman. "I can't say that there are fewer women at risk, but we're doing a much better job of dealing with it."

Homicides in Canada rose in 2011

Murders may be down in Hamilton, but the number of homicides nationally rose. In Canada, the homicide rate rose to 598 in 2011, 44 more than the previous year, marking the first increase in three years.

The rate was 1.73 per 100,000 population in 2011, seven per cent higher than in 2010, Statistics Canada reported.

The federal agency said the rate has stayed "relatively stable over the past decade." Prior to that, it had been declining since the mid-1970s.

According to the Statistics Canada data, Alberta and Quebec are the two provinces largely responsible for the increase in the national murder rate. Alberta had 32 additional homicides, reaching 109, and Quebec, had 21 more, reaching 105.

Manitoba had the highest homicide rate for the fifth year in a row, followed by Saskatchewan.

With files from CBC News