Police-reported crime statistics in Canada, 2014: highlights

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• The Crime Severity Index (CSI) measures the volume and severity of police-reported crime in Canada, and has a base index value of 100 for 2006. Between 2013 and 2014, the CSI decreased 3% from 68.8 in 2013 to 66.7 in 2014. This decrease was driven primarily by a decline in breaking and entering, and robbery. The decline in the CSI in 2014 represented the eleventh consecutive decrease.
• The police-reported crime rate, which measures the volume of police-reported crime, also declined in 2014, decreasing 3% from the previous year to 5,046 incidents per 100,000 population. This represented the eleventh consecutive decrease in the police-reported crime rate, and the lowest rate recorded since 1969.
• There were just under 1.8 million Criminal Code incidents (excluding traffic) reported by police in 2014, approximately 33,000 fewer incidents than in 2013.
• Despite a decrease in the majority of Criminal Code violations (excluding traffic) between 2013 and 2014, the rate of police-reported violations increased for child pornography (+41%), terrorism (+39%), extortion (+16%), identity fraud (+8%), sexual violations against children (+6%), abduction (+4%), fraud (+2%), and motor vehicle theft (+1%).
• Almost all provinces and territories recorded a decline in their police-reported CSI and crime rate in 2014. The only exceptions were Yukon, where the CSI was up 11% from 2013 and the crime rate remained stable, as well as British Columbia, where the CSI was up 3% from the previous year and the crime rate increased 2%. In addition, Alberta’s CSI increased slightly between 2013 and 2014, up 1%, while the police-reported crime rate remained stable.
• Several of Canada’s census metropolitan areas (CMAs) reported an increase in their CSI values in 2014. With a 10% increase between 2013 and 2014, Saskatoon (109.7) had the highest CSI among CMAs for the first time, followed by Regina (102.8), Vancouver (96.7) and Thunder Bay (89.9). In contrast, Barrie (43.6), with a 2% increase in its CSI from the previous year, recorded the lowest CSI among CMAs in 2014.
• The overall volume and severity of violent crime, as measured by the violent CSI, declined 5% between 2013 and 2014 to 70.2, and was driven largely by a decrease in robbery. This drop marked the eighth consecutive decline in the violent CSI.
• In 2014, police reported 516 homicides, four more than the previous year. While the number of homicides increased slightly between 2013 and 2014, the homicide rate (1.45 homicides per 100,000 population) remained virtually unchanged from the previous year.
• The overall volume and severity of non-violent crime, as measured by the non-violent CSI, was down 2% in 2014 from the previous year to 65.2. The decrease was largely the result of fewer reported incidents of breaking and entering.
• The overall rate of Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA) violations decreased in 2014, down 6% from the previous year. This decrease was primarily the result of fewer drug offences involving cannabis and cocaine.
• Police-reported youth crime also decreased in 2014, with both the youth Crime Severity Index and the youth crime rate declining 9% from the previous year. The rate of youth accused of some of the most serious violations also decreased, including a drop in the rate of youth accused of homicide (-38%).