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Performance Indicator 24: Crime Rates

Where BC Ranks, Provincial Comparison
Year

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

Rank

10

10

9

10

9

9

10

10

10

9

Performance Indicator Twenty-Four is based on the number of personal and property crimes in a jurisdiction. Higher crime rates produce worse ranks.

In 2008, BC had the second-worst combined personal and property crime rate among Canadian provinces. Rates have fallen significantly between 1999 and 2008. BC's rate fell by 30 percent, ahead of second-place Ontario, which had a 27 percent decline.

The crime rate in BC fell from 8.1 crimes per 100 people in 1999 to 5.6 in 2008. After three consecutive annual increases, crime rates in BC fell by 2.5 percent in 2004, and by more than six percent in each of the following four years.

North American Comparison

British Columbia ranked 50th among the 61 sub-national jurisdictions for this indicator in 2008, up ten positions from 2007.

Several years of better than average crime rate decreases in BC have begun to be reflected in rank improvements. BC placed third this year in annual improvement with a 14 percent decline and its rate has fallen by at least seven percent in each of the last four years.

Four Canadian provinces made the top ten in 2008, compared to three in 2007.

Personal vs. Property Crime

Personal crime includes those offenses in the Criminal Code that deal with the application or threat of application of force to a person, including homicide, attempted murder, assault, sexual assault, robbery and abduction.

Property crime includes unlawful acts with the intent of gaining property that don't use violence or threats (e.g., theft, breaking and entering, fraud and possession of stolen goods).

In 2008, personal crimes represented roughly one in 13 crimes in BC, meaning the majority of crime is against property. In 2008 and, on average between 1999 and 2008, BC had the highest property crime rate and the third-highest personal crime rate among the provinces.

Why It's Important The crime rate is both a reflection of community safety and security and an indicator of other social and economic problems. It can reflect a lack of employment opportunities, inadequate education or social dysfunction. Crime is costly to society, both from individual and community perspectives.

Reporting Rates

Victimization surveys show that only a fraction of crimes are reported to police. Reporting rates generally increase as the severity of the crime increases. In recent years, reporting has remained stable for violent crime, theft and vandalism but has fallen for a number of property-related offenses.

A more thorough review of crime incidence in North America is available in the Crime by City in North America Topic Box.

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