Data quality, concepts and methodology: Data Sources

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Incident-based Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR2) Survey

The Incident-based Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR2) Survey collects detailed information on individual criminal incidents reported to police, including characteristics of victims, accused persons and incidents. In 2007, detailed data were collected from 153 police services representing approximately 94% of the population of Canada. However, Hamilton Police Service is excluded from the analysis due to data quality of the relationship variable. Other than Ontario and Quebec, the data are primarily from urban police departments. The reader is cautioned that these data are not geographically representative at the national or provincial level. Incident-based UCR2 coverage was at least 97% in all provinces and territories, with the exception of British Columbia which had 59% coverage.

The UCR2 Trend Database contains historical data that permits the analysis of trends in the characteristics of incidents, accused and victims, such as victim-accused relationship. This database currently includes 63 police services that have reported to the UCR2 Survey consistently since 1998. These respondents accounted for 53% of the population of Canada in 2007.

Weighted rates

A number of police services reported a substantial proportion of violent incidents where the relationship between the accused and the victim was ‘unknown’ which if ignored would result in the underestimation of the rate of spousal violence. For example, Hamilton Police Service coded 83% of violent incidents as relationship ‘unknown’, RCMP in Alberta reported 52% and the OPP 50%. A UCR data quality measure that evaluates this relationship variable indicated that Hamilton Police Service should be removed from all analyses. To handle the remaining respondents with significant ‘unknowns’, a methodology was created which accounts for the incidents with an unknown relationship by assigning an increased weight to incidents where the relationship is known.

The following table shows the percentage of violent incidents reported by police where the relationship between the accused and the victim was coded as ‘unknown’ by province and territory.

To compensate for the unknown relationships and enhance the comparability of the provincial/territorial statistics, it was necessary to calculate weighted rates of spousal violence for each province and territory. Rather than simply ignore the unknown relationships, a relationship non-reporting adjustment factor was calculated for each police service. The weight that each police service carries in the overall provincial number is equal to the total number of violent offences for that police service. The underlying assumption here is that the violent incidents with unknown relationships are similar to those with known relationships. Again, the same UCR data quality measure used to determine that Hamilton should be excluded supported this assumption.

Homicide Survey

The Homicide Survey began collecting police-reported data on homicide incidents, victims and accused persons in Canada in 1961, and began collecting data on family-related homicides in 1974. When a homicide becomes known to the police, the investigating police department completes a survey questionnaire, which is then forwarded to the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics. The count for a particular year represents all homicides reported in that year, regardless of when the death actually occurred. In 1991 and 1997, the survey was revised and expanded to include additional variables, such as previous conviction histories of the accused and victim, employment of the accused and victim, victim’s use of force at the time of the incident, and Shaken Baby Syndrome as a cause of death.

The Homicide Survey also contains a narrative section, where investigating officers insert additional details on the homicide that are not included in the questionnaire portion of the survey. These additional details include such information as the presence/absence of a restraining order and the attempted suicide of the accused. However, generalizations cannot be made to all homicides, since the availability of this supplementary information varies between homicide reports.

Transition Home Survey

The Transition Home Survey (THS) was developed under the federal government’s Family Violence Initiative in consultation with provincial/territorial governments and transition home associations. The objectives of the survey are to collect information on the characteristics of residential services for abused women and their children during the previous 12 months of operation. In addition, the THS collects information on selected characteristics for the women and children residing in these shelters on a specified ‘snapshot’ day. In 1991-1992, Statistics Canada began collecting basic information on transition home services and clientele. A more comprehensive survey was developed and administered in subsequent years.

The THS is a biennial mail-out/mail-back census survey of all residential facilities providing services to abused women and their children. Shelters that serve a broader population, in addition to women escaping domestic violence, such as those providing residential services to male victims of spousal abuse and men and women seeking refuge for reasons other than abuse are also included on the THS. Facilities that exclusively serve male victims of spousal abuse fall outside the scope of this survey. At the time of this survey, one such facility was known to be in operation.

The THS does not include shelters that do not provide residential services. For additional results from the THS, refer to the Juristat entitled: Residents of Canada’s shelters for abused women, 2008.

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