Article content

It has been an unusually quiet start to 2016 for Montreal’s homicide squad.

It’s mid-March and not a single slaying has been reported, Montreal police confirmed Friday.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or All quiet on the homicide front in Montreal Back to video

Homicides had been committed by Jan. 21 in every one of the previous 10 years. In four of the past 10 years (2013, 2009, 2008 and 2007), the first slayings of the year happened in the first week of January.

The homicide rate has been falling steadily over the past 25 years in Montreal, as it has across Canada. Not since the 1960s have Montreal and Canada recorded so few slayings – and so few violent crimes in general.

Technology seems to be the biggest factor, according to Université de Montréal criminologist Marc Ouimet, a homicide researcher.

“DNA, surveillance cameras everywhere, dash cams, GPS-equipped cell phones – people have realized that there are many ways of getting caught,” Ouimet said. “The camera might not film you shooting someone but could catch you a block away, proving you were nearby.”