Statistics Canada Article on Police-Reported Crime Shows 11th Consecutive Year of Decline

Yesterday, the Statistics Canada publication Juristat published an article entitled Police-reported crime statistics in Canada, 2014 that shows that both the crime rate and the crime severity index (CSI) declined for the 11th year in a row.

The crime severity index measures the volume and severity of police-reported crime.

Among the highlights:

• With a base index value of 100 for 2006, the crime severity index has decreased to 66.7 in 2014. This decrease was driven primarily by a decline in breaking and entering, and robbery. 
• 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.
• 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.
•  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. 
• 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%).