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Canada crime severity index trends – July 2026 update

Updated 2 times since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

What changed

2026-08-01 13:59 UTC → 2026-08-11 18:33 UTC · added removed

Statistics Canada’s July 2026 release of 2025 data showed the national Crime Severity Index (CSI) falling for the second year in a row, consecutive year, with overall police‑reported crime the index down 2.4 % and 4.9%. Overall police-reported crime fell 2.4%, while violent crime down 4.2 %. Most provinces recorded declines; dropped 4.2% and non-violent crime decreased 5.3%. Notably, break-and-enter incidents fell 11%. Provincial trends were mixed. British Columbia’s CSI dropped 12 % fell nearly 12% since 2023, driven by reductions declines in extortion, shoplifting shoplifting, and child‑sexual‑abuse offences, child sexual abuse offences. However, BC officials noted conflicting trends: while Alberta’s the overall CSI fell 10.4 % – 1.6% year-over-year, the province’s Violent Crime Severity Index rose 2.2% compared to 2024, and Vancouver reported a 6.0% increase in violent crime during the first half of 2026. Alberta’s CSI fell 10.4%, reaching its lowest level since 2014 – after 2014, largely due to a 19 % 19% plunge in break‑and‑enter break-and-enter offences. Conversely, Manitoba saw an 8.8% drop, while New Brunswick and Nunavut recorded increases of 5.6% and 9.5%, respectively. Local exceptions persisted. outliers persist. Victoria’s CSI rose 4.7 points, reflecting jumps in robberies, assaults and low‑value thefts, and with robberies jumping 21%. Prince Albert saw a 6.5 % 6.5% overall CSI increase, largely due to fueled by a 24.7 % 24.7% surge in the Violent Crime Severity Index. violent crime. In late July, the small city of Duncan, British Columbia, topped the province’s CSI rankings. Officials noted that the metric can be skewed for a community of just over 5,000 residents that serves a larger regional population, and highlighted BC, officials contested its position at the concentration top of offences among people experiencing homelessness. The mayor and RCMP stressed that the ranking does not fully capture safety concerns and called for additional housing, mental‑health, addiction and justice resources. On 31 July, provincial CSI rankings, with Mayor Michelle Staples reiterated that the CSI figure does not reflect true community safety and warned warning against letting a “deeply skewed statistic” define Duncan. She again urged provincial and federal investment in housing, mental‑health, addiction and justice‑system services. the community. RCMP Staff Sergeant Ken Beard emphasized that, despite its size, Duncan exhibits many “core city” characteristics and noted that the index is inflated by a high concentration of offences among homeless individuals inflates the index. These updates reinforce a broader pattern of declining non‑violent crime across Canada, while isolated urban areas continue to experience localized spikes homeless population in violent offences and metric‑related concerns. a small community that serves a much larger regional population.

Versions

  1. 2026-08-11 18:33 UTC Canada crime severity index trends – July 2026 update
  2. 2026-08-01 13:59 UTC Canada crime severity index trends – July 2026 update
  3. 2026-07-31 17:32 UTC Canada crime severity index trends

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