Police-reported Crimes decline in Canada

Police-reported crime in Canada continued to decline in 2008. Both the traditional crime rate and the new Crime Severity Index fell 5%, meaning that both the volume of police-reported crime and its severity decreased. Violent crime also dropped, but to a lesser extent.

This was the fifth consecutive annual decline in police-reported crime. There were about 77,000 fewer reported crimes in 2008, including 28,000 fewer thefts of $5,000 and under, 22,000 fewer break-ins and 20,000 fewer motor vehicle thefts.

Crime severity was down in virtually all provinces. The largest decline was reported in Manitoba, where the Police-reported Crime Severity Index (PRCSI) was down 14%. The one notable exception was a 7% increase in the PRCSI in Prince Edward Island.

About 1 in 5 crimes reported to police is violent. There were 3,500 fewer reported violent incidents in 2008, including 2,000 fewer robberies.

Homicides, which make up less than 1% of violent crime, were one of the few violent crimes to increase in 2008.

The police-reported crime rate (PRCR) for youth aged 12 to 17 fell by 5% in 2008, the fourth decline in the past five years. The youth violent crime rate, which declined 3%, has been relatively stable since 2000.

Crime severity highest in the North and West

Among the provinces, crime severity continues to be highest in the West. In 2008, Saskatchewan's PRCSI of 156 was well above the national index of 90. Index values in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut were more than double that of Saskatchewan.

Prince Edward Island's index, despite having increased, was the lowest in the country at 68.

Most of Canada's census metropolitan areas (CMAs) reported drops in their PRCSI in 2008. Winnipeg, St. John's, Regina, Saskatoon, Moncton and Saguenay all reported declines of at least 10% in crime severity.

The only three CMAs to report an increase in crime severity were Trois-Rivières (+14%), Peterborough (+7%) and Sherbrooke (+3%).

The highest police-reported crime severity indexes in 2008 were all found in western CMAs. Crime severity was highest in Regina, followed by Abbotsford–Mission, Saskatoon, Kelowna, Winnipeg, Edmonton and Vancouver.

Among central and eastern CMAs, only Thunder Bay, Brantford, Saint John, Halifax and Montréal reported index values above the national average.

Crime was least severe in Guelph, followed by Saguenay, Barrie, Québec and Toronto. Toronto's index dropped 6% in 2008 and was about 30% lower than the national index.

Violent crime severity stable over past 10 years

The Police-reported Violent Crime Severity Index declined 3% in 2008, mainly due to the 7% drop in the rate of robberies and a 10% drop in attempted murders. Violent crime severity in Canada has been relatively stable over the past decade.

The traditional violent crime rate, a measure of the volume of violent crime reported to police, fell 2%.

In 2008, three CMAs reported increases of over 15% in their Violent Crime Severity Index: Gatineau, Abbotsford–Mission and Windsor. At the other extreme, four CMAs reported decreases of at least 15%: Saskatoon, Greater Sudbury, Saguenay and Guelph.

Regina, Saskatoon and Winnipeg reported the highest violent crime index among the 33 CMAs in 2008. In contrast to its overall crime index, Toronto's violent crime index was slightly above the national average.

Increase in homicides

Police reported 611 homicide victims, an increase of 17 from 2007. The homicide rate rose 2% in 2008 but has been relatively stable over the past decade.

Manitoba reported a rate of 4.5 homicides per 100,000 population in 2008, the highest among the provinces. New Brunswick's rate of 0.4 was the lowest in that province in 40 years as well as the lowest in the country.

Homicide rates were highest in the western CMAs of Abbotsford–Mission (4.7), Winnipeg (4.1), Regina (3.8), Edmonton (3.4), Kelowna (3.4), Calgary (2.9) and Vancouver (2.4).

With 103 homicides in 2008, Toronto had the most homicides of any CMA. However, taking population into account, Toronto's rate of 1.9 homicides per 100,000 was slightly higher than the national average of 1.8.

Montréal (1.3) and Hamilton (0.9) each reported their lowest homicide rates since 1981, when data first became available at the CMA level.

Decline in other serious violent crimes

In addition to the 10% drop in the rate of attempted murders in 2008, serious assaults dropped for the first time in almost a decade. There were nearly 58,000 aggravated assaults and assaults with a weapon reported by police, a 2% drop in the rate from 2007.

The robbery rate in Canada has been gradually decreasing over the past decade, with a further 7% decline in 2008. About 15% of robberies involved a firearm. Robberies committed with a firearm remained stable in 2008 after reaching a 30-year low in 2007.

Police-reported break-ins and motor vehicle thefts down
The rate of break-ins dropped 10% in 2008, continuing the steady decline seen since 1991. Police reported over 200,000 break-ins, of which 6 in 10 were residential.

Abbotsford–Mission and Regina reported the highest break-in rates among CMAs. In contrast to the declining trend across the country, Trois-Rivières reported a 31% increase in its rate of break-ins in 2008.

Police reported about 125,000 stolen vehicles in 2008, down from 145,000 in 2007. As a result, the rate of motor vehicle thefts dropped 15%, continuing the downward trend observed since the mid-1990s.

Despite a 44% drop, Winnipeg still reported the highest rate of vehicle thefts, followed by Abbotsford–Mission, Kelowna and Brantford.

Increases in impaired driving and cannabis possession
The police-reported rate of impaired driving increased for the second consecutive year in 2008, up 6%. However, impaired driving rates have generally been declining over the past 20 years.

There were about 102,000 reported drug offences in 2008, virtually unchanged from 2007. The drug offence rate, which has been generally increasing since the early 1990s, reached a 30-year high in 2007.

Cannabis offences increased in 2008, while declines were reported for cocaine and other drug offences. Possession of cannabis, which continued to account for almost half of all drug offences, posted a rate increase of 5% in 2008.

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