P.E.I. is spending fewer dollars on police per capita than any other province in the country, while Ontario is spending the most, according to a new Statistics Canada study.

Per capita cost

  • Average $268.
  • P.E.I. $168.
  • Ontario $294.

Not surprising, that lower spending on the Island results in the fewest number of police per capita in the country, one for every 166 people. Stratford, with just six RCMP officers for a population of more than 7,000, has perhaps the smallest police presence in the country. Yarmouth, N.S., with roughly the same population, has 19 officers.

John Turner, chief of policing services at Statistics Canada, noted municipal forces on P.E.I. also are not solving as many crimes as others in the country.

"The national rate for clearance is about 38 per cent. P.E.I., I have some specific cities here: Charlottetown was 30 per cent, Summerside 36, Stratford 29," said Turner.

Population per officer

  • Provincial average 189.
  • P.E.I. 166.
  • Sask. 207.

"So a little below average, but again we're dealing with fairly small communities here and also very low crime rates."

Turner said P.E.I. has one of the lowest crime severity rates in the country.

In cities with more than 100,000 people, the best clearance rates were in Moncton (46.0 per cent) and in three Ontario communities: Oshawa area (45.5 per cent), Windsor (45.1 per cent) and Greater Sudbury (44.8 per cent).

Fewer women hired on Island

The study also explored the hiring of female officers.

Female officers

  • Average 19.1.
  • P.E.I. 13.2.
  • Quebec 22.5.

In 2009, females accounted for about one in five officers in Canada, compared to about one in eight 10 years ago. On P.E.I., however, that proportion is still about one in eight. Quebec has the highest proportion of female officers.

Nationally, the increase in the proportion of female constables has levelled off in the last five years, but the proportion of women higher in the ranks continues to increase.