Police-reported organized crime, by most serious violation (homicide and attempted murder, assault, sexual violations, kidnapping and hostage taking, human trafficking, robbery and theft, firearm and weapons violations, extortion and criminal harassment, arson, forgery and fraud, child pornography, criminal organization involvement, probation and court violations, drug possession and trafficking, and other violations), Canada (selected police services), 2016 to 2024.

This statistic represents the total number of hate crimes recorded in Canada in 2023, distinguished by the motivating factor. In 2023, race or ethnicity was the most common motivating factor for hate crimes, with 2,128 cases of race-related crimes recorded by the police.

Number of homicide victims, by method used to commit the homicide (total methods used; shooting; stabbing; beating; strangulation; fire (burns or suffocation); other methods used; methods used unknown), Canada, 1974 to 2024.

This statistic shows the number of homicides committed in Canada in 2023, distinguished by the method. In 2023, a total of 778 homicides were reported in Canada. Out of those, 234 were reported as a result of stabbings.

Incident-based crime statistics (actual incidents, rate per 100,000 population, percentage change in rate, unfounded incidents, percent unfounded, total cleared, cleared by charge, cleared otherwise, persons charged, adults charged, youth charged / not charged), by detailed violations (violent, property, traffic, drugs, other Federal Statutes), police services in Ontario, 1998 to 2024.

This statistic shows the crime severity index value of metropolitan areas in Canada in 2023. As of 2023, the crime severity index in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, stood at 116.31.

In 2023 in Toronto, the largest city in the Canadian province of Ontario, the most frequent type of property crime recorded by police was theft of under ***** Canadian dollars of non-motor vehicles, with almost ****** incidents. In 2023, Toronto was the city with the highest number of property crimes in Canada, ahead of Vancouver.

This data set is no longer compiled by the Ministry of Solicitor General. Data from the Police Reported Crime Severity Index. Measures changes in Canadian crime severity from year to year. In the index, all crimes are assigned a weight based on their seriousness, based on actual sentences handed down in all provinces and territories. Serious crimes are assigned high weights while less serious offences have lower weights. As a result, serious offences have a greater impact on changes in the index. Data is compared to the 2006 baseline. The data can be accessed from Statistics Canada.

This statistic shows the Crime Severity Index in Canada for 2023, by province. In 2023, the Crime Severity Index in the Northwest Territories stood at 473.72. Crime Severity IndexThe Crime Severity Index (CSI) was developed by Statistics Canada and first released in 2009. Its creation was meant to address the shortcomings of the traditionally measured crime rate which is simply a count of all crimes per 1,000 people. In contrast, the CSI is a measure of all crimes, weighted by seriousness (length of judicial sentencing). One of the shortcomings of the standard crime rate is that a petty theft receives the same weight as more serious crimes like murder and rape. Compounding this is the fact that minor violations are far more numerous than severe crimes. The consequence is that fluctuations in the number of minor crimes greatly impact the crime rate, while fluctuations of more serious crimes will go relatively unnoticed. In this scenario it would be possible for minor crimes to be decreasing and serious crimes to be increasing with the net effect of the overall crime rate dropping and portraying an inaccurate picture of crime and public safety. Although the annual trend has been the same between the CSI and the standard crime rate a look at the details reveals differences. For instance, in 2023, Newfoundland and Labrador was the sixth most violent province in Canada based on the standard violent crime rate but was only the seventh most violent province in Canada based on the violent crime severity index. This would indicate that the majority of violent crime in the province is of a less serious nature.

Crime severity index (violent, non-violent, youth) and weighted clearance rates (violent, non-violent), Canada, provinces, territories and Census Metropolitan Areas, 1998 to 2024.

The rate of incidents of violent criminal code violations in Canada increased by 51.1 incidents (+3.71 percent) in 2023 in comparison to the previous year. In total, the rate of incidents amounted to 1,427.94 incidents in 2023.

Number and rate (per 100,000 population) of homicide victims, Canada and Census Metropolitan Areas, 1981 to 2024.

In the fiscal year of 2023, the most common area of complaint made to the Office of the Correctional Investigator (OCI) by Aboriginal inmates in Canada was for issues regarding health care, with 192 complaints. The second most common complaint related to conditions of confinement, with 185 complaints.

This statistic shows the number of people accused of homicide in Canada in 2022, by Aboriginal identity and province or territory. In 2022, 41 Aboriginal people were accused of homicide in Ontario.

To inform policy development, public engagement and communications, and to support its mandate, the Department of Justice commissions periodic national surveys to understand Canadians’ perceptions, understanding, and priorities on justice-related issues. Specifically, the study measures awareness, knowledge, and confidence in the criminal justice system and criminal law; examines Canadians’ perceptions of the criminal justice system, the values they want the criminal justice system to reflect, and priorities with respect to criminal justice issues; and Canadians’ expectations of the criminal justice system to support reforms and new initiatives in this area. A large scale survey of 4,200 Canadians on awareness and top-of-mind perceptions, values and expectations regarding the criminal justice system. Survey respondents were randomly sampled from EKOS’ in-house panel (Probit1).

The Survey concluded with the following information: Most respondents in the first survey report having had some exposure to or direct involvement with the criminal justice system, including knowing someone who was a victim or accused or as a witness. About one in four reports having been a victim of a violent or non-violent crime. Some report having been accused or convicted of a crime. One in four is a family member of a victim or someone accused or convicted of a crime. Almost half of Canadians in the first survey indicated they get information about the criminal justice system from their personal experience or the experience of someone they know. Another third get information from professionals in the system.

Respondents tend to believe that crime rates are rising, when they have in fact been declining steadily over the past decade or more, with the exception of a marginal increase in 2015 over 2014. Three in ten understand that the rate has been dropping over the past five years; however, one in five believe it is stagnant and almost half believe it rose over the last five years (when most years there has been a decline). Survey results and focus group discussions highlight Canadians’ views about the importance of crime prevention, rehabilitation and other approaches to sentencing such as restorative justice, as well as the need to separate offenders from society where necessary. There is also strong support for efforts and investment in primary crime prevention to address root causes and reduce the likelihood of crimes being committed before they occur. Canadians welcome information about the current issues with the criminal justice system.

Number, percentage and rate (per 100,000 population) of homicide victims, by racialized identity group (total, by racialized identity group; racialized identity group; South Asian; Chinese; Black; Filipino; Arab; Latin American; Southeast Asian; West Asian; Korean; Japanese; other racialized identity group; multiple racialized identity; racialized identity, but racialized identity group is unknown; rest of the population; unknown racialized identity group), gender (all genders; male; female; gender unknown) and region (Canada; Atlantic region; Quebec; Ontario; Prairies region; British Columbia; territories), 2019 to 2024.

This statistic shows the violent crime severity index in Canada for 2023, by province. In 2023, the violent crime severity index in Nunavut stood at 667.25. Violent CrimeViolent crime includes any crime that incorporates force such as murder, assault and rape, as well as crimes that include the threat of violence such as robbery, harassment and extortion. The tracking of violent crime is usually done through indicators such as a violent crime rate or violent crime severity index. The violent crime rate is usually measured simply by counting all violent crimes per 1,000 inhabitants. The violent crime severity index is a measure of violent crime weighted by the severity of the crime. This indicator was developed in order to provide a clearer picture of serious crimes in Canada that can be hidden in the standard violent crime rate. Violent crime has been steadily declining in Canada for some time now with 2014’s violent crime rate of 1,039 being 30 percent lower than the rate in 2000. Violent crime is highest in the territories with Nunavut’s rate, in particular, being over three times higher than the national average. Crime rates are normally difficult to compare across countries because of differences in reporting rates and definitions of crimes between governments. Murder rates are typically one of the few that are compared as the definition is fairly clear cut. Compared to the United States, Canada’s rate of homicide was almost three times lower for 2019.

This statistic shows the total number of drug-related offenses in Canada from 2000 to 2023. There were 45,530 drug-related offenses nationwide in Canada in 2023. Drug-related CrimeDrug-related crime is any crime that has to do with the manufacture, sale, possession, or transportation of a substance illegal under Canada’s criminal code. Drug-related crime is one of the few areas of crime in Canada that has been on the decline over the last few decades. From 2000 to 2023 the rate of drug-related offenses in Canada has decreased. Before 2018, by far, the largest portion of drug-related offenses in Canada was for the possession of cannabis. The number of all offenses related to cannabis was over four times higher than the next illicit substance. Likewise, possession of any substance was also the most common drug-related offense, occurring almost four times as frequently as the next offense. The vast majority of youths who were found guilty of a drug-related offense in criminal courts are sentenced to probation. In contrast, adults were dealt with more strictly, with the distribution of sentences for the guilty being even between, probation, fines, and custody.

Number and percentage of homicide victims, by type of firearm used to commit the homicide (total firearms; handgun; rifle or shotgun; fully automatic firearm; sawed-off rifle or shotgun; firearm-like weapons; other firearms, type unknown), Canada, 1974 to 2018.

The average for 2017 based on 97 countries was 7.4 homicides per 100,000 people. The highest value was in El Salvador: 61.8 homicides per 100,000 people and the lowest value was in Japan: 0.2 homicides per 100,000 people. The indicator is available from 1990 to 2017. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.