Back to accessibility links
Crime rates continue to fall in Canada
Declines recorded across country, for most offences
CBC News
Last Updated: July 24, 2012
Crime rates in Canada are continuing to fall, according to Statistics Canada which reported that the overall volume of crime dipped six per cent in 2011. In the same year, Canadian police services recorded about two million Criminal Code incidents (excluding traffic) - this represents a drop of about 110,000 incidents from 2010. Statistics Canada has reported declines in crime for most offences including homicide, sexual offences and drug offences. Canada's crime rate has been declining steadily since 1991. The police-reported crime rate encompasses the total volume of crime, excluding traffic and drug offences. The rate is calculated by dividing the sum of the offences by the population and is expressed as a rate per 100,000 people. Crimes are assigned a weight in the Crime Severity Index, which includes traffic offences. This measure is calculated by dividing the sum of the weighted offences by the population.