Ontario, B.C. lead boost in cop numbers: StatsCan
Last Updated: Friday, November 16, 2007 | 2:29 PM ET
CBC News
With Ontario and British Columbia leading the way, Canadian police forces added 1,673 members to their ranks in the past year bringing their strength to 64,134 officers, Statistics Canada reported Friday.
| Police strength in 2007 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Number | Per capita rate | |
| Canada | 64,482 | 195 |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 838 | 165 |
| Prince Edward Island | 227 | 164 |
| Nova Scotia | 1,758 | 188 |
| New Brunswick | 1,326 | 177 |
| Quebec | 15,233 | 198 |
| Ontario | 24,450 | 192 |
| Manitoba | 2,409 | 204 |
| Saskatchewan | 2,046 | 207 |
| Alberta | 5,703 | 165 |
| British Columbia | 8,075 | 186 |
| Yukon | 119 | 385 |
| Northwest Territories | 175 | 419 |
| Nunavut | 123 | 394 |
That's an increase of 2.7 per cent from 2006 and brings the per capita rate to 195 police officers for every 100,000 Canadians, the federal agency said in a release. But it's five per cent below the peak of 206 officers per 100,000 people in 1975, it added.
Canada lags behind other countries in police strength, the study said. The number of per capita police officers in the United States, Australia, and England and Wales ranges from 222 to 270 officers per 100,000.
Statistics Canada also reported:
- Of the new officers, Ontario added 691 and British Columbia gained 397.
- The number of female police officers across the country increased six per cent to 11,853. Females now account for about one in five officers, compared with one in 10 a decade ago.
- Of the 10 provinces, Saskatchewan reported the highest per capita rate for the seventh year in a row, followed by Manitoba and Quebec. The lowest rates were found in Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador and Alberta.
- In 2006, spending on policing totalled almost $10 billion, a 4.4 per cent increase over 2005 after adjusting for inflation.
-
Among census metropolitan areas, Thunder Bay, Ont., had the highest rate, followed by Saint John, N.B., Winnipeg and Montreal. The lowest rates were in Saguenay and Gatineau, Que., Quebec City, and Kingston, Ont.
The report said police are solving more violent crimes, clearing 72 per cent in 2006, up from 69 per cent in 2004. In total, it said, police solved 36 per cent of all crimes in 2006, slightly higher than the 30-year average.
With files from the Canadian PressShare Tools
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