Vast majority satisfied with their personal safety from crime

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In 2009, over 9 out of 10 Canadians (93%) aged  and older said that they felt satisfied with their personal safety from crime, a proportion similar to 2004 (94%).Despite higher rates of victimization, young people aged 15 to 24 were more satisfied with their personal safety than seniors aged 65 and older—94% said they felt very or somewhat satisfied, versus 90%.

About 83% of Canadians said that they were not at all worried when home alone in the evening. Of those who walked alone in their neighbourhood at night, 90% said they felt safe doing so.

In 2009, 39% of Canadians reported having used a crime prevention method during the prior 12 months: 27% of Canadians changed their routine or avoided certain places, 13% installed new locks or security bars and 10% installed a burglar alarm or motion detector lights.

Residents of Prince Edward Island reported one of the highest levels of satisfaction (97%), whereas residents of British Columbia reported one of the lowest (89%).

Table 7.b Self-reported feelings of safety while performing various activities, by sex, 2009
Table summary
This table displays the results of table 7.b self-reported feelings of safety while performing various activities males and females, calculated using % units of measure (appearing as column headers).

	MalesNote 1	Females
	%
Very or somewhat safe walking alone in your neighbourhood after dark	95	85*
Not at all worried when home alone in the evening or night	90	76*
Not at all worried waiting for or using public transportation in your neighbourhood after darkNote 2	73	42*
Notes: * significantly different from reference category (p < 0.05) Population 15 years and older. Excludes Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. 1. Reference category. 2. Includes only those who had access to public transportation in their communities. Source: Statistics Canada, Catalogue no. 85-002-X.