Justice and community safety statistics play a critical role in understanding Canadians' social well-being and in guiding evidence-based decisions on crime, access to justice and public safety. These data allow governments, researchers and other stakeholders to track trends; evaluate system performance; and develop policies that promote fairness, equity and security nationwide. Recent shifts, such as changing crime patterns, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the rapid move to virtual court processes, have highlighted the growing need for timely, integrated and reliable information to support decision making in an increasingly complex environment.
The Justice and Community Safety Statistics Program, managed by the Canadian Centre for Justice and Community Safety Statistics (CCJCSS) at Statistics Canada, is part of the National Justice Statistics Initiative (NJSI), a federal-provincial-territorial partnership dedicated to the collection and dissemination of consistent and high-quality justice-related data across Canada. As the operational arm of the NJSI, the CCJCSS develops, collects, integrates and analyzes data on crime, victimization and justice administration. In 2019/2020, its mandate was expanded to include community safety and emergency management.
The objective of the evaluation is to provide credible and neutral information on the ongoing performance and future direction of the Justice and Community Safety Statistics Program.
Key findings and recommendations
The evaluation confirms that the CCJCSS plays a vital role in Canada's justice and public safety ecosystem. Its data products, especially analytical reports and data tables, are widely recognized and valued by federal partners, academics, governments at all levels, parliamentarians and the media. Analytical reports provide ready-to-use insights for policy and program development, while data tables enable technical users to conduct custom analyses tailored to their needs. Together, these products support legislative reform, academic research, public accountability and evidence-based decision making.
Despite these strengths, the evaluation identified persistent challenges that limit the program's responsiveness. Timeliness and accessibility remain top concerns. Users reported that products are not issued quickly enough, reducing their relevance and utility. Additionally, gaps in disaggregated data and inconsistencies across jurisdictions constrain efforts to address systemic issues such as overrepresentation and equity in the justice system.
Operational pressures compound these challenges. Modernization initiatives—including the transition from aggregate to microdata, adoption of open-source tools and integration of artificial intelligence (AI)—have increased the complexity of the CCJCSS's work. While the CCJCSS has made progress by leveraging innovation and AI to enhance usability and user experience, it is essential to build on these advancements by further embedding AI into core workflows. This will help streamline processes, reduce routine tasks and accelerate product delivery. However, these necessary changes require significant technical expertise and resources. Ongoing workforce constraints and reliance on cost-recovery funding present sustainability risks, raising concerns about the CCJCSS's capacity to maintain quality and timeliness in a resource-constrained environment.
To remain relevant and maximize value, the CCJCSS must adopt a strategic approach that emphasizes prioritization and workforce resilience. This includes clarifying its mandate to guide priorities, strengthening its cost-recovery governance and focusing resources on developing products that provide the most value to their intended audience. Additionally, strengthening workforce resilience through knowledge transfer and succession planning will further support sustainability.
In light of these findings, the following recommendations are proposed:
Recommendation 1
The assistant chief statistician (ACS) of the Social, Health and Labour Statistics Field (Field 8) should ensure that the CCJCSS adopts a structured, metrics-driven approach to prioritization. This will better align outputs with the CCJCSS's mandate and foster continuous improvement. Key actions should include the following:
- Clarifying the CCJCSS mandate: Clearly define the CCJCSS's core purpose, scope and intended audience. Establish a framework to identify which outputs and activities most directly support its strategic objectives.
- Strengthening cost-recovery governance: Enhance coordination within the CCJCSS to ensure that initiatives are aligned with broader strategic priorities.
- Distinguishing essential versus discretionary activities: Identify which outputs and initiatives are essential to fulfilling the CCJCSS mandate and which are discretionary.
- Leveraging performance metrics: Systematically assess outputs using metrics such as web analytics, social media engagement, data request trends and consultation feedback to create a shortlist of high-impact products. The user rankings of themes and sub-themes from the evaluation can also be leveraged in this exercise.
- Prioritizing strategic value: Focus resources on users and outputs that deliver the greatest strategic impact.
- Monitoring and adjusting: Regularly evaluate the effects of prioritization on timeliness, user satisfaction and employee morale, and adjust the approach as needed.
Recommendation 2
The ACS of Field 8 should ensure that the CCJCSS develops a succession and knowledge transfer plan that includes the following:
- Identifying critical tasks and responsibilities: Pinpoint essential operational activities.
- Mapping institutional knowledge holders and retirement timelines: Assess areas of risk to prioritize knowledge transfer.
- Developing clear documentation protocols: Create step-by-step guides and templates, and ensure storage in accessible repositories.
- Mentoring and shadowing: Provide opportunities for newer staff to learn from experienced colleagues before departures.
- Aligning training and capacity building: Build workforce skills and capacity to keep pace with growing demands and evolving tasks.
- Monitoring and updating: Review the plan regularly to keep it current and effective.