Abbotsford-Mission topped the country in the number of murders per capita in 2008, according to a report released Tuesday by Statistics Canada.

The murder rate per 100,000 people in the Abbotsford-Mission census metropolitan area (CMA) was 4.7, followed by Winnipeg with 4.1 homicides per 100,000, and Regina at 3.8 homicides.

Vancouver's homicide rate was 2.4, while the national rate for the number of murders came in at 1.8.

New Brunswick's rate of .4 homicides was the lowest in the country.

The national murder rate rose two per cent in 2008, but has been relatively stable over the past decade.

Police reported 611 homicide victims to Statistics Canada. This was an increase of 17 deaths from 2007.

Six people were murdered in Abbotsford in 2008.

Two women, Hendrikje Priester and Janice McMath, were murdered and in both cases their spouse or partners were charged in connection with their deaths.

Duane Harvey Meyer, Dustin Lee Wester and Joe Krantz were all gunned down in gang- and drug-related violence.

Meyer, suspected of being linked to the UN gang, was shot on the front steps of a Kipling Street home.

Wester, 22, died at a gas station on Mt. Lehman Road after being shot at a farm housing a marijuana grow operation on Townshipline Road.

Krantz, 28, an associate with the Independent Soldiers was gunned down in the stairwell of his gym, World Extreme Fighting, on Clearbrook Road.

Harvey Hans, 18, was stabbed to death in a brawl in front of a Ridgeview Drive home.

Additonally, in 2008, Abbotsford-Mission was one of three CMAs to report increases of over 15 per cent in their Violent Crime Severity Index.

Gatineau, Que. and Windsor, Ont. were the two other areas to report a rise.

Abbotsford Police Const. Ian MacDonald said the manner in which Statistics Canada compiles its numbers can be misleading.

CMAs tend to lump distinct geographical and political areas into one category, which can adversely or positive affect statistics.

The Abbotsford CMA also includes the municipality of Mission, which tends to skew the perception of the problem of crime in Abbotsford.

Measuring municipalities by their individual reported crime rates is a more accurate reflection of the problem, he said.

"If you break it out and look at 225 municipalities individually, Abbotsford ranks 48th in the crime severity index," said MacDonald.

Mission ranked 16th in the crime severity index while Chilliwack came in number 24.

Combatting violent crime, especially crime that is gang-related, is difficult, said MacDonald.

"We can't know when the next targeted hit is going to happen."

Targeted enforcement against the hierarchy of gangs only temporarily lops off the head of the beast.

"We also need to address the lines of people that are forming who want to involve themselves in criminal activity," he said.

"That takes a longer term approach and more of an investment in terms of time and resources."

Abbotsford Police have made a concerted effort to identify gang associates in Abbotsford.

Twenty-two members from gangs such as the Red Scorpions, UN Gang, Hells Angels, Persian Pride and West Coast Vatos Locos were arrested in 2008/09, said MacDonald.