Private security and public policing: Highlights

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  • Private security personnel continue to outnumber police officers. Results from the 2006 Census indicate that there were approximately 102,000 security guards and private investigators in Canada, compared to about 68,000 police officers.

  • Private security personnel grew at a faster rate than police officers, thus widening the gap between the two groups. Private security personnel increased by 15% between 2001 and 2006, while the rate of police officers was up by only 3%.

  • Manitoba and Saskatchewan, which had the nation's highest crime rates, employed the most police per capita in 2006. Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador, provinces with crime rates well below the national average, had the fewest number of police per capita.

  • Quebec reported the most security guards per capita among the provinces, while Alberta and Ontario had the most private investigators per capita.

  • The representation of visible minorities among police officers and private security personnel doubled between 1996 and 2006. While the proportion of visible minorities among security guards exceeded that of the overall proportion this was not the case for police and private investigators. 

  • The number of women employed in the private security industry and in policing continues to grow. Between 1996 and 2006, the proportion of female private security personnel increased from 20% to 24%. Similarly, the proportion of female police officers increased from 13% to 20%.

  • The proportion of Aboriginal police officers was similar to their representation in the overall population. In 2006, 4% of police officers were Aboriginal peoples, compared to 3% of Canada's population 15 years and over.

  • Police officers generally have higher levels of education and higher incomes compared to private security personnel.