Crime statistics

Canada's national crime rate increased 6% in 2003, its first substantial gain in over a decade. The increase was driven by a surge in counterfeiting across the country, as well as an increase in most property crimes and minor offences such as mischief and disturbing the peace.

The violent crime rate remained virtually unchanged. But most categories of property crimes rose last year, including break-ins, motor vehicle thefts, possession of stolen goods and minor thefts. This was the first substantial increase in property crime in over a decade.

Notable gains also occurred in other large-volume, minor offences such as mischief and disturbing the peace. Some forces have attributed the increase in minor offences to new reporting procedures introduced in 2003, which make it easier for the public to report these types of crimes to the police.

On the other hand, the national homicide rate fell 7% last year to its lowest level since 1967. In addition, the rate of drug crimes in Canada dropped 8%, the first decline since 1993. This was largely driven by a decrease in reported cannabis possession incidents.

After peaking in 1991, the overall crime rate fell steadily throughout the 1990s and remained relatively stable from 2000 to 2002. The 2003 crime rate was 15% lower than a decade ago, but 14% higher than 25 years ago.

Of the more than 2.5 million Criminal Code incidents reported by police last year, 12% were violent crimes, 51% property crimes and 37% other Criminal Code offences.

Crime rates increased in all provinces and territories except Ontario and Yukon, where they remained stable. Saskatchewan reported the highest rate among the provinces.

Large jump in counterfeiting

A large part of the increase in overall crime was the result of the more than 138,000 counterfeiting incidents reported by police. Counterfeiting incidents now represent 5% of all Criminal Code offences, making it the sixth largest crime category in Canada.

The rate of counterfeiting increased 72% in 2003. Countefeiting incidents tripled in Newfoundland and Labrador and nearly doubled in Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia. Prince Edward Island was the only province that did not report an increase in counterfeiting in 2003.

The Bank of Canada's Annual Report for 2003 indicated that there were more than twice as many counterfeit notes detected in circulation than in the previous year. Some of this increase may be attributable to an increase in the detection of counterfeit currency rather than solely an increase in counterfeiting activity.

Property crime: Increases in vehicle thefts and break-ins

The national property crime rate rose 4% in 2003, after hitting nearly a 20-year low the year before. It was the first substantial rise since 1991. However, the rate is still 26% lower than it was a decade earlier.

Police reported more than 284,000 break-ins, a 2% increase, making this offence the third-largest crime category. Break-ins rose as a result of a 1% gain in residential break-ins and a 6% increase in businesses. It was the first substantial increase of this offence in over a decade. The only province to report a notable decline in break-ins was Quebec, down 5%.

Thieves stole over 171,000 vehicles last year, up 5%, putting the total at about the same level as a decade earlier. More than half (57%) of these stolen vehicles were cars, but the rate of theft of trucks, mini-vans and SUVs rose at four times the pace of car thefts.

Among the provinces, the largest increase in vehicle theft was reported by Alberta, where it rose 15%, primarily because of a jump in Edmonton. Double-digit increases were also reported in Saskatchewan, Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.

Drug crime rate falls after rising for nearly a decade

The rate of drug incidents fell 8% in 2003, the first decline since 1993. It was driven by an 18% drop in the rate of cannabis possession offences, which account for about half of all reported drug crimes. However, the rate of cannabis cultivation incidents, also known as marijuana grow-ops, rose 3%.

The rate of people charged by police with possession of cannabis fell 30% last year. This drop may have been, in part, a result of a climate of uncertainty among police, given recent court rulings questioning the constitutionality of current laws regarding cannabis possession. In addition, legislation was introduced in 2003 in the House of Commons to decriminalize possession of small amounts of cannabis.

British Columbia has reported the highest rate of drug crimes among the provinces for the past two decades. It was also the only province to show an increase (+6%) in reported drug incidents in 2003. This included a 3% rise in incidents of cannabis possession.

In Vancouver, police introduced high visibility walking beats in 2003 in areas with high rates of drug crime. This may have resulted in more incidents coming to their attention.

Violent crime: Homicide rate continues downward trend

The violent crime rate has generally declined since the early 1990s after increasing throughout most of the three previous decades. Since 1993, it has fallen 11%, and in 2003, it remained virtually unchanged.

Most violent crime categories recorded declines in 2003, except for robbery, which increased 5%, and attempted murder, which rose 4%.

The national homicide rate fell 7% last year to its lowest level in over 35 years. A total of 548 homicides were reported to police, 34 fewer than in 2002. A major factor was a large decrease in both British Columbia and Quebec. However, there were 32 more attempted murders in Canada last year.

Saskatchewan reported the largest increase in homicides, from 27 in 2002 to 41 in 2003. This gave it the highest homicide rate in the country and also its highest provincial rate since 1977. The four Atlantic provinces reported the lowest homicides rates. Nova Scotia and Quebec each reported their lowest homicide rate in over 25 years.

Among all census metropolitan areas (CMAs), Abbotsford and Regina reported the highest homicide rates. Three CMAs in Quebec reported no homicides: Saguenay, Sherbrooke and Trois-Rivières. Among the nine largest CMAs, Winnipeg had the highest rate and Québec the lowest.

The national sexual assault rate declined 5% to its lowest level in almost 20 years. There were just under 23,000 Level 1 sexual assaults reported by police in 2003, the least serious form of this offence. In addition, there were 361 sexual assaults involving a weapon, and 180 aggravated sexual assaults.

The rate of robberies rose 5%, the first gain since 1996. This included a 10% increase in robberies committed with a firearm. Of the more than 28,000 robberies in 2003, 14% involved a firearm, 38% were committed with a weapon other than a firearm, and nearly half were committed without a weapon.

Crime up in nearly every province and territory

Crime rates increased in all provinces and territories, except Ontario and Yukon, where they remained virtually unchanged. Double-digit increases were reported in Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia, Manitoba and Prince Edward Island.

Saskatchewan reported the nation's highest rate, followed by Manitoba and British Columbia. Ontario reported the lowest crime rate for the first time since statistics were collected in 1962.

Highest CMA rates in western Canada, lowest in Quebec and Ontario

The seven highest crime rates among the CMAs were all in the west: Saskatoon, Regina, Abbotsford, Winnipeg, Vancouver, Edmonton and Victoria. The lowest crime rates were in Quebec and Ontario: Saguenay, Québec, Toronto, Trois-Rivières, Kitchener, Gatineau and Ottawa.

Double-digit increases in crime rates were reported in 2003 for Saskatoon, Montréal, Winnipeg and Edmonton. The increase in Montréal was primarily because of an 87% rise in counterfeiting incidents.

Youth crime increasing

More than 84,000 young people aged 12 to 17 were charged with criminal offences last year. A further 100,000 youths involved in criminal incidents were "cleared otherwise."

An incident is cleared otherwise when police have identified an accused and there is sufficient evidence to lay a charge in connection with the incident, but the accused is processed by other means. In the case of youths, this could include formal measures such as a Crown caution or extrajudicial sanctions, or informal measures such as a police warning or referral to a community program.

The crime rate among young people aged 12 to 17, as measured by the total number accused by police, increased 5% last year. It was the third gain in the last four years.

The rate of youths formally charged declined 15%. However, this was more than offset by a 30% jump in the rate of youths cleared otherwise. In 2003, some of the increase in youths cleared otherwise may be a result of increased reporting by police under the new provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

Violent crime among youth was up 3%, also the third increase in four years. Increases were reported in the rate of youths accused of homicide, attempted murder and assault. Declines were reported for sexual assault and robbery.

The youth property crime rate increased 4% in 2003, following three years of relative stability. This was driven by a 7% increase in the rate of break-ins and a 6% increase in the rate of thefts under $5,000. The rate of young people accused of motor vehicle theft fell 7%.

Impaired driving continues to decline

The impaired driving rate fell 5% last year, continuing a downward trend over the past 20 years. Police reported about 77,000 incidents of impaired driving last year.

Most provinces reported declines in impaired driving, with the largest in New Brunswick (-11%) and Ontario (-9%). The biggest increase was reported in Prince Edward Island (+11%).

Available on CANSIM: tables 252-0013 and 252-0014.

Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 3302.

The publication Juristat: Canadian Crime Statistics, 2003, Vol. 24, no. 6 (85-002-XIE, $9/$75; 85-002-XPE, $11/$100) is now available.

For more information or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Client Services (1-800-387-2231; 613-951-9023), Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics.