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OTTAWA - Youth homicides hit a record high in 2006, but the overall rate of youth crime was down a whopping 25 per cent from its 1991 peak, Statistics Canada reported Friday.

The homicide rate among youth aged 12 to 17 was three per 100,000, with 84 young people charged in 54 killings.

Statistics Canada noted that homicides make up only a tiny portion of youth crime and rates can fluctuate substantially from year to year. Five years earlier, the youth homicide rate was at a 30-year low.

There are some worrisome trends in the report, particularly in the area of youth violent crime, which jumped 30 per cent since 1991.

Nearly 80 per cent of youth involved in violent crime were accused of assault. Most of those charges were common assault - the least serious form. But the increases took place at the same time that overall crime was declining.

The Conservative government has spent much of its 27 months in office promising to get tough on criminals in a bid to respond to voter perceptions - particularly in urban areas - of increasing crime.

A volley of legislation has been proposed such as Bill C-2, which asks for harsher penalties for gun criminals, repeat violent offenders and impaired drivers.

But experts say the latest numbers should not be used to sway the public in support for the government's agenda.

By simply changing the laws and going after tougher sentencing for youth, the government "is looking for cheap and simple solutions to complex and expensive problems," said Nicholas Bala, professor of Youth Justice Law at Queen's University.

He said youth crime must be taken seriously, but added there are other methods of dealing with it than tougher sentencing.

Bala suggests the Conservatives should be looking at improving access to mental health programs and youth employment programs - "these kinds of programs that are actually changing the lives of young people."

The report was released hours before the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that making violent young offenders prove they should not face adult prison terms is unconstitutional.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said critics who selectively use statistics to oppose elements of the Tories law-and-order agenda and point out that crime rates are actually falling are apologists for criminals.

"(They) try to pacify Canadians with statistics," Harper told party supporters in January.

"Your personal experiences and impressions are wrong, they say; crime is really not a problem. These apologists remind me of the scene from the Wizard of Oz when the wizard says, 'Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.'"