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The Daily. Wednesday, November 29, 2000
The incidence of criminal harassment, commonly known as stalking, appears to be on the rise, according to data reported by a group of Canadian police forces.
One hundred and six police forces reported a total of 5,382 incidents of criminal harassment in 1999, up 32% from 1996. However, some of this increase may have been the result of a greater public and police awareness of the potential seriousness of this crime, which only became a Criminal Code offence in 1993. Although this sample of police forces is not nationally representative, it does deal with 41% of the annual national volume of crime.
Stalking is primarily a crime against women. In 1999, females accounted for three-quarters of all victims of criminal harassment. Most victims of criminal harassment know their accused and, in many instances, the stalker and victim were involved in a previous relationship. Slightly more than half of all female victims were stalked by a current or former partner. A further 25% were stalked by a casual acquaintance.
Accused-victim relationship in criminal harassment incidents
1999
| Male victim | Female victim | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| number | % | number | % | |
| Accused | ||||
| Current spouse | 3 | 0.3 | 115 | 3.7 |
| Ex-spouse | 98 | 10.9 | 1,134 | 36.3 |
| Current or ex-dating relationship | 49 | 5.5 | 482 | 15.4 |
| Other family | 59 | 6.6 | 111 | 3.6 |
| Casual acquaintance | 396 | 44.1 | 782 | 25.1 |
| Business relationship | 107 | 11.9 | 146 | 4.7 |
| Other known relationship | 44 | 4.9 | 24 | 0.8 |
| Stranger | 104 | 11.6 | 225 | 7.2 |
| Unknown | 37 | 4.1 | 101 | 3.2 |
| Total | 897 | 100.0 | 3,120 | 100.0 |
| Note: | Based on a non-representative sample of 106 police services, which deal with 41% of the national volume of crime. Excludes incidents where the sex of the victim or the accused was unknown. |
By contrast, male victims were most frequently stalked by a casual acquaintance (44%). A further 12% were stalked by a business relation, 12% by a stranger, 11% by an ex-wife, and 5% by a current or ex-girlfriend.
Offences commonly associated with criminal harassment include uttering threats, threatening or harassing phone calls, common assault and mischief. While less than 2% of criminal harassment incidents in 1999 resulted in physical injury to the victim, the obsessive and repetitive nature of stalking can have a profound emotional impact on victims. Studies have found that depression and anxiety are not uncommon among victims of stalking.
Stalking also has the potential of progressing to more serious crimes. There were nine stalking-related homicides in Canada from 1997 to 1999, each involving a female being stalked, and subsequently killed, by a recently-separated husband, ex-husband or ex-lover.
Among 10 selected cities, the highest rates of stalking in 1999 were reported in Saskatoon, which had 75 incidents of criminal harassment per 100,000 population, Montreal (73) and Vancouver (68). The lowest rates were reported in Edmonton (11), Calgary (12) and London (12). The remaining cities and their rates were: Toronto (40), St. Catharines-Niagara (26), Regina (24), and Kitchener-Waterloo (18).
In 1998/99, more than 4,000 cases involving criminal harassment charges were heard in adult provincial or territorial courts, an increase of 32% from 1994/95. About half these charges led to a conviction.
A jail term was imposed in 35% of convicted criminal harassment cases. This figure is higher than for common assault (29%), but lower than for all other violent offences (55%). The median length of prison sentences in criminal harassment cases has increased from 30 days in 1994/95 to 90 days in 1998/99.
Information on charges and cases processed in adult criminal courts came from the Adult Criminal Courts Survey. Seven provinces and two territories currently report to this survey, representing 80% of the adult provincial and territorial court caseload.
Juristat: Criminal harassment, Vol. 20, no. 11 (85-002-XIE, $8/$70; 85-002-XPE, $10/$93) is now available. See How to order products.
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Information and Client Services (613-951-9023; 1-800-387-2231), Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics.