Template:Short description Template:Infobox Uniform Crime Reporting Survey Crime in Canada is generally considered low overall.<ref name="o189">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Under the Canadian constitution, the power to establish criminal law & rules of investigation is vested in the federal Parliament. The provinces share responsibility for law enforcement (although provincial policing in many jurisdictions is contracted to the federal Royal Canadian Mounted Police), and while the power to prosecute criminal offences is assigned to the federal government, responsibility for prosecutions is delegated to the provinces for most types of criminal offences. Laws and sentencing guidelines are uniform throughout the country, but provinces vary in their level of enforcement.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

According to Statistics Canada, overall crime in Canada had been steadily declining since the late 1990s as measured by the Crime Severity Index (CSI) and the Violent Crime Severity Index (VCSI), with a more recent uptick since an all-time low in 2014.<ref name="urlwww150.statcan.gc.ca_CSI">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Both measures of crime saw an 8% to 10% decrease between 2010 and 2018.<ref name="urlwww150.statcan.gc.ca_CSI"/> Violent crime, specifically homicide, has declined in Canada by over 40% since its peak in 1975, placing Canada 95th in the world by homicide rate—far worse than Australia, England, France and Ireland, and relatively close to poorer European countries. It is tied for first in the Americas with Chile (homicide rates are 2.7 times lower than in the United States).Template:Clarification needed

More current crimes that are increasing include drug-related offences, fraud, sexual assault and theft, with fraud increasing 46% between 2008 and 2018.<ref name="urlPolice-reported crime statistics in Canada, 2018">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The Crime Severity Index (CSI) in Canada rose by 2% in 2023, marking the third consecutive year of increase and the continuation of a trend that began in 2015.<ref name="o958"/> The overall increase was significantly influenced by a rise in reported fraud, which was still identified as a major factor, extortion and child pornography cases, which soared by 52% in 2023.<ref name="o958"/> According to the Institute for Economics & Peace Global Peace Index, Canada is ranked the 11th safest country in the world out of 163 countries.<ref name="a393">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

StatisticsEdit

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File:Police-reported Crime Severity Indexes, 1998 to 2023.png
Police-reported Crime Severity Indexes, 1998 to 2023, index

The Crime Severity Index (CSI) in Canada rose by 2% in 2023, marking the third consecutive year of increase and the continuation of a trend that began in 2015. The increase was largely attributed to significant shifts in certain types of crime, particularly in the Non-violent CSI, while the Violent CSI saw minimal change. Data showed that the police-reported crime rate per 100,000 people was 5,843 in 2023, reflecting a 2.5% annual change. Both the Violent Crime Severity Index and the Non-violent Crime Severity Index recorded values of 99.5 and 73.5, respectively.<ref name="o958">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 2023, there were 778 victims of homicide, 104 fewer than in 2022. Gang-related homicides continued to account for about one-quarter (22%) of all homicides; 78% of these were committed with a firearm, most often a handgun. The proportion of women who were killed by their spouse or intimate partner was approximately 5 times higher than the proportion of men (31% versus 6%).The number of police-reported hate crimes was 4,777 a 32% increase from 2022. Hate crimes targeting a religion or a sexual orientation accounted for most of the increase.<ref name="c632">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} Text was copied from this source, which is available under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.</ref>

The overall increase in the CSI was significantly influenced by a rise in reported child pornography cases, which soared by 52% in 2023. The increase was deemed partly due to enhanced awareness and better collaboration among law enforcement agencies. Other contributors to the CSI included increases in fraud and shoplifting rates, with fraud rising by 12% and shoplifting of amounts under $5,000 rising by 18%.<ref name="o958"/>

Conversely, some crime types saw a decline, including breaking and entering, which dropped by 5%, continuing a slow decline observed since the 1990s. While the Violent CSI remained virtually unchanged, the police reported lower rates of homicide and sexual offenses against children, with a decrease of 14% in homicide rates compared to the previous year.<ref name="o958"/>

Several crime types emphasized in the report include fraud, which was identified as a major factor, and extortion, rising by 35% for the fourth consecutive year. Despite the rise in reported incidents, many cases of fraud remain unreported. Reports indicated that only about 11% of fraud victims decided to notify the authorities.<ref name="o958"/>

The statistics also highlighted the changing landscape of theft-related crimes, as motor vehicle theft and robbery rates saw increases. Notably, while motor vehicle theft has risen by 5% from the previous year, the rate remains about 50% lower than it was 25 years ago. Relationships to robbery showed a similar trend, with a 4% rise in incidents but still being lower than historical figures from years ago.<ref name="o958"/>


Crime statistics by province and territoryEdit

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Police-reported Crime Severity Indexes, by province and territory, 2019 to 2023

Crime statistics vary considerably through different parts of Canada. In general, the eastern provinces have the lowest violent crime rates while the western provinces have higher rates and the territories higher still. Of the provinces, Manitoba and Saskatchewan have the highest violent crime rates.

In Newfoundland and Labrador, the 2023 Crime Severity Index was 86.3, experiencing a 5.1% increase. The police-reported crime rate for the province stood at 7,175, also rising by 5.0%. Similar trends were noted across various provinces, with notable increases in other areas including Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, while some areas like Nova Scotia reported a slight decrease in their Crime Severity Index.<ref name="o958"/>

The chart below also shows that Saskatchewan has the highest provincial assault rate, and that Manitoba has the highest provincial sexual assault rate, robbery rate and homicide rate of any Canadian province. In many instances the crime rates in the Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut are the highest in the country and can be up to ten times the national average.

2020 crime statistics for the provinces and territories are given below, as reported by Statistics Canada.<ref name="MULTI3"/>

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Province/Territory Total of all violations Violent Criminal Code violations (total) Homicide Attempted murder Sexual assault (not including against children) Sexual violations against children Assault (not including against a police officer) Assaults against a police officer Discharge firearm with intent Robbery Forcible confinement or kidnapping Extortion Criminal harassment Uttering threats Indecent/Harassing communications Other violent violations Property crime violations (total) Breaking and entering Theft of motor vehicle Theft over $5000 (non-motor vehicle) Theft under $5000 (non-motor vehicle) Fraud Identity theft and identity fraud Mischief Other property crime violations Other Criminal Code violations (total) Child pornography (including making and distributing) Disturb the peace Administration of justice violations Other Criminal Code violations (all other violations) Criminal Code traffic violations (total) Impaired driving Other Criminal Code traffic violations Federal Statute violations (total) Drug violations (total)
Canada 5703.54 1051.62 1.95 2.14 57.91 19.06 574.05 27.47 2.98 60.05 10.43 8.28 51.88 166.59 41.96 27.14 3206.84 438.51 216.91 42.48 1365.91 299.05 46.92 717.44 79.62 965.39 17.21 268.84 560.17 119.17 341.53 194.31 147.22 339.16 262.96
NL 6478.06 1327.42 1.32 1.32 58.85 23.39 693.61 25.47 3.58 42.07 6.98 7.36 67.53 Template:Font color 45.08 21.13 3375.41 509.69 92.81 43.76 1004.1 269.37 11.51 1407.58 36.59 1221.59 16.41 438.38 617.4 149.4 325.2 259.56 65.64 228.44 185.24
PE 4949.24 Template:Font color Template:Font color Template:Font color Template:Font color 22.2 Template:Font color Template:Font color 0.67 Template:Font color Template:Font color Template:Font color 52.47 151.36 78.04 10.09 2916.94 Template:Font color Template:Font color Template:Font color 1276.83 390.85 21.53 836.2 53.15 619.58 16.14 264.38 Template:Font color 106.3 397.58 328.29 69.29 229.4 187.69
NS 5540.17 1153.45 1.37 2.74 65.93 22.12 561.56 34.54 1.37 28.44 10.64 6.64 45.81 242.65 102.79 26.85 2843.18 307.21 96.05 24.75 1221.06 296.68 15.8 771.35 110.28 882.25 21.49 158.4 553.13 149.23 326.07 263.4 62.67 335.23 287.62
NB 5291.89 1176.56 1.45 0.92 48.63 22.99 623.16 30.79 1.98 29.86 4.89 4.23 Template:Font color 257.01 59.33 21.95 2696.16 429.98 124.34 30.13 1057.64 235.6 24.45 718.44 75.58 823.62 14.27 189.88 457.07 162.4 300.09 221.46 78.63 295.46 221.6
QC 3567.02 950.41 0.8 2.29 49.19 23.11 483.88 30.42 1.27 44.45 Template:Font color Template:Font color 61.9 180.2 Template:Font color 33.95 Template:Font color 371.75 143.24 35.55 Template:Font color Template:Font color 58.42 Template:Font color 43.53 Template:Font color 9.7 Template:Font color 362.98 63.12 480.02 180.46 299.56 340.1 293.93
ON Template:Font color 789.81 1.47 1.86 53.39 Template:Font color 421.06 18.69 3.4 59.01 7.16 5.7 54.98 Template:Font color 21.81 23.3 2286.89 285.55 123.17 32.46 1108.64 292.48 34.78 372.62 37.19 531.65 10.63 39.65 407.83 73.54 Template:Font color Template:Font color 95.81 Template:Font color Template:Font color
MB 9446.88 1938.05 3.19 3.26 Template:Font color Template:Font color 1210.5 Template:Font color 5.23 Template:Font color 10.92 3.34 Template:Font color 246.26 44.38 30.95 5093.28 727.7 313.1 34.82 1437.72 268.79 26.94 2157.98 126.23 1775.32 16.31 671.71 903.86 183.44 324.7 257.26 67.44 315.52 206.35
SK Template:Font color Template:Font color Template:Font color Template:Font color 103.94 32.42 Template:Font color 49.89 Template:Font color 85.87 13.3 5.21 48.58 266.72 68.31 46.66 Template:Font color Template:Font color 492.16 54.93 1882.97 Template:Font color 51.71 Template:Font color Template:Font color Template:Font color 14.78 551.44 Template:Font color 303.65 Template:Font color Template:Font color 256.9 Template:Font color 300.36
AB 8801.19 1243.53 2.73 1.25 63.45 17.61 721.63 30.9 4.56 71.41 12.51 6.47 46.04 179.38 58.29 27.3 5205.65 658.12 Template:Font color Template:Font color 2112.83 428.2 63.27 1112.89 217.91 1610.56 8.63 437.16 980.56 184.21 407.11 286.65 120.46 334.34 275.63
BC 8674.51 1139.34 1.83 2.4 50.17 15.59 589.2 26.05 1.85 62.17 7.01 11.32 34.87 200.31 Template:Font color 21.47 5001.44 628.02 294.76 58.82 Template:Font color 364.13 Template:Font color 913.18 96.5 1597.37 Template:Font color Template:Font color 432.32 205.76 330.18 240.99 89.19 606.17 Template:Font color
YT 24319.85 4147.55 Template:Font color 2.67 200.05 58.68 2627.23 85.35 Template:Font color 58.68 21.34 5.33 117.36 701.48 181.37 77.34 9225.97 672.14 469.43 72.02 2440.52 472.1 13.34 4979.73 106.69 9169.96 18.67 6244 2544.54 362.75 1165.58 976.21 189.37 610.8 450.76
NT Template:Font color 7836.92 6.75 Template:Font color 310.33 85.45 5313.81 139.42 15.74 69.71 47.22 13.49 175.4 Template:Font color 353.05 89.97 Template:Font color 1014.19 526.21 40.48 1931.68 301.33 11.25 Template:Font color 139.42 12089.32 20.24 Template:Font color Template:Font color 638.65} Template:Font color Template:Font color 247.36 Template:Font color Template:Font color
NU 35790.95 Template:Font color 2.7 Template:Font color Template:Font color Template:Font color Template:Font color Template:Font color Template:Font color 26.97 Template:Font color 5.39 Template:Font color 1092.17 Template:Font color 80.89 15171.78 Template:Font color 323.61 29.66 725.42 210.34 Template:Font color 11970.77 140.22 11088.94 Template:Font color 8146.81 2491.77 442.27 790.14 644.52 145.62 587.89 544.74

Violent crime severity index by census metropolitan areaEdit

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City 2020 2019 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009
Abbotsford–Mission 77.2 86.4 82.3 90.4 81.1 70.7 79.7 72.4 89.8 118.8
Barrie 44.9 53.1 46.3 43.8 42.3 38.6 46.1 49.2 50.1 53.9
Brantford 80.8 83.4 88.4 70.0 73.5 73.9 67.6 84.5 92.5 91.5
Calgary 78.0 92.9 61.3 72.1 63.0 62.0 61.2 72.1 82.1 84.8
Edmonton 104.8 114.9 102.5 103.9 93.3 89.7 95.8 105.9 106 118.7
Gatineau 51.4 55.8 63.8 55.9 57.5 65.1 71.4 68.1 59.7 74.5
Greater Sudbury 87.8 82.1 61.4 63.9 62.9 66.3 75.4 78.7 85 98.1
Guelph 63.1 64.6 49.1 47.3 44.1 42.5 53.8 48.2 44.5 49.2
Halifax 64.3 60.7 60.2 77.3 79.0 73.6 84.8 92.4 111.7 105.6 120.0
Hamilton 55.5 66.0 54.6 55.0 59.9 62.5 75.8 80.9 84.3
Kelowna 111.9 121.4 62.7 69.8 60.4 67.1 81.8 86.0 95.9 104.3
Kingston 70.6 67.8 38.5 54.5 44.3 48.6 53.7 48.1 54.5 71.9
Kitchener–Cambridge–Waterloo 74.7 73.3 60.1 54.5 51.1 57.0 60.9 69.5 69.8 65.1
London 74.7 75.1 59.4 56.7 49.0 56.9 64.1 70.5 74.3 69.9
Moncton 104.2 108.9 79.3 75.6 74.5 66.5 73.4 68.2 72.4 79.4
Montreal 52.7 58.0 73.1 76.1 72.5 79.5 87.8 97.7 98.3 102.7
Ottawa 48.3 57.0 62.1 53.7 49.6 56.1 58.2 63.9 67.5 78.1
Peterborough 62.1 54.4 68.9 56.9 51.7 57.7 66.2 60.2 65.8 59.5
Quebec 100 43.1 47.5 48.3 50.8 48.6 51.3 50.9
Regina 104.8 130.0 124.1 107.9 103.8 105.8 110.1 123.5 151.2 155.6
Saguenay 67.7 47.7 61.3 58.2 57.2 79.4 55.2 59.2 72.8
Saint John 43.9 56.1 49.3 64.3 63.8 65.7 61.6 59.5 68.0 91.3 96.4 100.3
Saskatoon 105.7 117.3 114.0 113.5 122.6 109.9 126.4 134.5 155.7 154.7
Sherbrooke 47.8 47.2 55.6 44.1 51.6 45.3 49.7 49.3 N/A 54.2
St. Catharines–Niagara 58.1 64.3 37.6 42.2 40.9 49.3 54.1 48.0 56.9 63.5
St. John's 88.9 71.3 79.6 69.5 79.5 77.3 74.7 90.1 69.3
Thunder Bay 93.8 100.6 125.6 119.2 138.5 110.9 118.8 128.7 138.5 136.1
Toronto 46.2 54.2 70.4 64.6 63.5 68.2 78.4 84.7 88.4 94.5
Trois-Rivières 47.7 51.8 46.2 59.9 57.3 51.4 46.4 46.2 44.4 56.0
Vancouver 88.6 95.4 77.8 85.0 78.2 83.6 92.6 98.3 108.2 117.8
Victoria 75.8 74.3 56.8 69.1 58.4 54.4 63.7 70.9 81.3 81.0
Windsor 83.3 80.3 58.1 67.7 57.0 61.9 66.4 59.8 65.1 74.6
Winnipeg 116.3 131.7 149.6 122.1 116.1 119.9 145.4 173.8 163.9 187.0
Canada 73.4 79.5 75.3 74.5 70.2 73.7 81.4 85.3 88.9 93.7

PoliceEdit

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In 2005, there were 61,050 police officers in Canada which equates to one police officer per 528.6 persons, but with significant regional variations.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island have the fewest police per capita with 664.9 and 648.4 persons per police officer, respectively. Conversely, the highest ratio of police to population is found in Canada's northern territories; Nunavut has 247.9 persons per police officer, the Northwest Territories has 248.5 persons per officer and the Yukon has 258.2 persons for each police officer.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

That is a substantially lower rate than most developed countries with only Japan and Sweden having so few police officers. The United States has one officer per 411.5 persons, and Germany 344.8.

Canada's national police force is the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) which is the main police force in Canada's north, and in rural areas except in Quebec, Ontario, and Newfoundland. Those three provinces have their own provincial police forces, although the RCMP still operate throughout rural Newfoundland and also provide specific federal policing services in Ontario and Quebec. Many cities and districts have their own municipal police forces, while others have contracts with the provincial police or RCMP to police their communities.

ComparisonsEdit

File:Global Peace Index 2023.png
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Comparing crime rates between countries is difficult due to the differences in jurisprudence, reporting and crime classifications. National crime statistics are in reality statistics of only selected crime types. Data are collected through various surveying methods that have previously ranged between 15% and 100% coverage of the data. A 2001 Statistics Canada study concluded that comparisons with the U.S. on homicide rates were the most reliable. Comparison of rates for six lesser incident crimes was considered possible but subject to more difficulty of interpretation. For example, types of assaults receive different classifications and laws in Canada and the U.S., making comparisons more difficult than homicides. At the time, the U.S. crime of aggravated assault could be compared to the sum of three Canadian crimes (aggravated assault, assault with a weapon, and attempted murder). This comparison had a predicted bias that would inflate the Canadian numbers by only 0.1%. The study also concluded that directly comparing the two countries' reported total crime rate (i.e. total selected crimes) was "inappropriate" since the totals include the problem data sets as well as the usable sets.<ref name=statcan2001comp>Feasibility Study on Crime Comparisons Between Canada and the United States Maire Gannon, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Statistics Canada, Cat. no. 85F0035XIE. Retrieved June 28, 2009.</ref> For reasons like these, homicides have been favored in international studies looking for predictors of crime rates (predictors like economic inequality).

Crime Comparison Between Selected Countries (Reported crimes per 100,000 population)
Country Homicide Robbery Sexual Assault Statistics Year
Canada 1.6 79.4 62.9 citation CitationClass=web

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Australia 1.3 63.3 80.1 citation CitationClass=web

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United States of America 4.5 102.2 110 2014<ref name="USA crime 2014">Crime in the United States 2014 By Volume and Rate per 100,000 Inhabitants, 1995–2014. FBI.</ref><ref name="USA victimization 2014">Criminal Victimization, 2014 - cv14.pdf. US Bureau of Justice Statistics.</ref>

United StatesEdit

Much study has been done of the comparative experience and policies of Canada with its southern neighbour the United States, and this is a topic of intense discussion within Canada.

Historically, the violent crime rate in Canada was far lower than that of the U.S. For example, in 2000 the United States' rate for robberies was 65% higher, its rate for aggravated assault was more than double, and its murder rate was triple that of Canada. However, the rate of some property crime types is lower in the U.S. than in Canada. For example, in 2006, the rates of vehicle theft were 22% higher in Canada than in the U.S.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The homicide rate in Canada peaked in 1975 at 3.03 per 100,000 and has dropped since then; it reached lower peaks in 1985 (2.72) and 1991 (2.69). It reached a post-1970 low of 1.73 in 2003. The average murder rate between 1970 and 1976 was 2.52, between 1977 and 1983 it was 2.67, between 1984 and 1990 it was 2.41, between 1991 and 1997 it was 2.23 and between 1998 and 2004 it was 1.82.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The attempted homicide rate has fallen at a faster rate than the homicide rate.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> By comparison, the homicide rate in the U.S. reached 10.1 per 100,000 in 1974, peaked in 1980 at 10.7 and reached a lower peak in 1991 (10.5). The average murder rate between 1970 and 1976 was 9.4, between 1977 and 1983 it was 9.6, between 1984 and 1990 it was 9, between 1991 and 1997 it was 9.2 and between 1998 and 2004 it was 6.3. In 2004, the murder rate in the U.S. dipped below 6 per 100,000, for the first time since 1966, and as of 2010 stood at 4.8 per 100,000 <ref name=autogenerated1>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

From 2014 to 2022, Canada's violent crime rate rose by 43.8% to 434.1 violent crime per 100,000 people. In the U.S, the increase was 5.3% to 380.7 per 100,000 people. Property crimes in Canada stood at a rate of 2,491 per 100,000 people in 2022, a 7.0% increase since 2014, while U.S. property crimes fell by 24.1%. Homicides in Canada grew from 1.5 to 2.3 per 100,000, rising by 53.4%, while the U.S. homicide rate is significantly higher at 5.8 per 100,000, increasing by 49.4%.<ref name="n349">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

See alsoEdit

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NotesEdit

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ReferencesEdit

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Further readingEdit

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External linksEdit

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