The total number of home invasions in the Toronto area has doubled in the year to date, local police say.

Headlines about homeowners being charged with aggravated assault for defending their families against armed intruders has sparked a wave of middle class panic.

Organized crime has concluded that violent break-ins committed by hired juvenile hoodlums is a lucrative and low-risk pursuit.

Demand for private security has also spiked in the suburbs around Canada’s largest city.

The political upshot is that the major federal parties are falling over themselves to convince voters they are more unyielding than their rivals when it comes to law and order.

Public opinion is firmly of the belief that crime is rising, even though the statistics show that it was down overall by four per cent i

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