Table 2
Police-reported crime and proportion deemed unfounded, selected offences, Canada, 2017 to 2019


Table 2
Police-reported crime and proportion deemed unfounded, selected offences, Canada, 2017 to 2019
Table summary
This table displays the results of Police-reported crime and proportion deemed unfounded. The information is grouped by Type of offence (appearing as row headers), 2017, 2018, 2019, Reported and Unfounded, calculated using number and percent units of measure (appearing as column headers).
Type of offence 2017 2018Note r: revised 2019
Reported Unfounded Reported Unfounded Reported Unfounded
number number percent number number percent number number percent
Total Criminal Code (excluding traffic) 2,117,353 153,224 7 2,186,628 143,300 7 2,350,631 142,555 6
Total violent crime 461,899 55,273 12 478,598 51,759 11 532,973 52,969 10
Homicide 666 0 0 658 0 0 678 0 0
Other violations causing deathTable 2 Note 1 121 21 17 150 17 11 118 10 8
Attempted murder 830 9 1 827 6 1 870 5 1
Sexual assault - level 3 - aggravated 175 15 9 172 14 8 134 9 7
Sexual assault - level 2 - weapon or bodily harm 453 30 7 513 23 4 551 26 5
Sexual assault - level 1 28,196 4,039 14 31,633 3,724 12 33,705 3,420 10
Sexual offence occurring prior to January 4, 1983Table 2 Note 2 Note ...: not applicable Note ...: not applicable Note ...: not applicable 593 19 3 552 18 3
Sexual violations against childrenTable 2 Note 3 Table 2 Note 4 9,604 1,328 14 10,301 1,226 12 11,359 1,321 12
Assault - level 3 - aggravated 3,630 46 1 3,633 49 1 3,984 60 2
Assault - level 2 - weapon or bodily harm 53,816 1,676 3 55,791 1,573 3 61,138 1,722 3
Assault - level 1 184,253 20,974 11 190,124 19,986 11 209,074 21,248 10
Assault against a peace officer 11,024 59 1 11,796 45 Note 0svalue rounded to 0 (zero) where there is a meaningful distinction between true zero and the value that was rounded 12,173 41 Note 0svalue rounded to 0 (zero) where there is a meaningful distinction between true zero and the value that was rounded
Other assaults 2,198 225 10 2,358 234 10 2,520 294 12
Firearms - use of, discharge, pointing 3,047 281 9 3,121 260 8 3,772 269 7
Robbery 24,027 1,196 5 23,781 1,231 5 24,614 1,318 5
Forcible confinement or kidnapping 4,288 509 12 3,987 497 12 4,210 515 12
Trafficking in personsTable 2 Note 5 314 46 15 288 50 17 405 64 16
Extortion 3,350 164 5 4,890 166 3 4,330 156 4
Criminal harassment 25,123 5,241 21 24,769 5,078 21 28,431 5,106 18
Uttering threats 76,376 13,085 17 78,767 11,961 15 93,136 11,775 13
Indecent and harassing communicationsTable 2 Note 6 21,827 5,246 24 22,420 4,648 21 27,878 4,589 16
Non-consensual distribution of intimate images 1,709 197 12 1,665 182 11 2,185 213 10
Offences in relation to sexual servicesTable 2 Note 7 1,185 67 6 1,082 38 4 1,230 67 5
Other violent Criminal Code violations 5,687 819 14 5,279 732 14 5,926 723 12
Total property crime 1,264,768 71,449 6 1,308,062 66,979 5 1,385,164 65,602 5
Breaking and entering 171,107 11481 7 171,488 11159 7 172,553 11262 7
Possess stolen propertyTable 2 Note 8 25,664 1,465 6 25,794 1,436 6 27,135 1,383 5
Theft of motor vehicle 94,515 9,400 10 95,445 9,253 10 95,660 8,594 9
Theft over $5,000 (non-motor vehicle) 18,731 1,466 8 21,456 1,352 6 22,647 1,290 6
Shoplifting under $5,000 109,475 1,162 1 126,002 1,106 1 142,230 1,944 1
Theft of $5,000 or under (non-motor vehicle) 419,235 22,363 5 428,338 20,771 5 444,058 19,619 4
Fraud 120,349 7,183 6 136,416 6,408 5 148,362 6,222 4
Identity theft 3,455 160 5 3,960 145 4 4,852 169 3
Identity fraud 14,822 478 3 16,261 413 3 20,084 420 2
MischiefTable 2 Note 9 277,492 14,917 5 273,597 13,680 5 298,079 13,385 4
Arson 9,923 1,374 14 9,305 1,256 13 9,504 1,314 14
Total other Criminal Code offences 390,686 26,502 7 399,968 24,562 6 432,494 23,984 6
Weapons violations 18,265 2,395 13 19,067 2,478 13 21,223 2,601 12
Child pornographyTable 2 Note 10 Table 2 Note 11 7,581 1,161 15 6,733 799 12 9,678 863 9
ProstitutionTable 2 Note 7 139 17 12 121 6 5 142 7 5
TerrorismTable 2 Note 12 199 109 55 185 77 42 150 65 43
Disturb the peace 103,214 6,663 6 100,385 6,006 6 116,131 5,687 5
Administration of justice violations 229,343 12,081 5 240,720 11,470 5 248,584 11,238 5
Other violations 31,945 4,076 13 32,757 3,726 11 36,586 3,523 10
Total Criminal Code traffic violations 129,374 3,958 3 129,743 3,853 3 140,393 3,687 3
Alcohol-impaired drivingTable 2 Note 13 69,008 3,394 5 69,261 3,253 5 75,329 2,511 3
Drug-impaired drivingTable 2 Note 14 3,836 342 9 4,824 380 8 6,811 358 5
Alcohol- and drug-impaired drivingTable 2 Note 15 Note ...: not applicable Note ...: not applicable Note ...: not applicable 330 63 19 5,065 447 9
Impaired driving (not specified)Table 2 Note 15 Note ...: not applicable Note ...: not applicable Note ...: not applicable 125 12 10 1,977 193 10
Other Criminal Code traffic violations 56,530 222 Note 0svalue rounded to 0 (zero) where there is a meaningful distinction between true zero and the value that was rounded 55,203 145 Note 0svalue rounded to 0 (zero) where there is a meaningful distinction between true zero and the value that was rounded 51,211 178 Note 0svalue rounded to 0 (zero) where there is a meaningful distinction between true zero and the value that was rounded
Total drug offences 96,571 3,585 4 87,523 2,596 3 72,081 1,941 3
Total other federal statute violations 32,317 1,555 5 27,482 1,299 5 25,424 1,828 7
Human trafficking under the Immigration and Refugee Protection ActTable 2 Note 16 124 21 17 133 16 12 186 16 9
Youth Criminal Justice Act 5,571 74 1 4,843 78 2 3,871 56 1
Other federal statutes 26,622 1,460 5 22,506 1,205 5 21,367 1,756 8
Total - all violations 2,375,615 162,322 7 2,431,376 151,048 6 2,588,529 150,011 6
... not applicable
0s value rounded to 0 (zero) where there is a meaningful distinction between true zero and the value that was rounded
r revised
Note 1

Includes, for example, criminal negligence causing death.

Return to note 1 referrer

Note 2

In 2019, the Uniform Crime Reporting Survey added a new violation code to collect information on “sexual offences which occurred prior to January 4, 1983.” While most violations are not typically reported years after their occurrence, sexual violations may be reported by a victim long after the incident took place due to a variety of reasons. On January 4, 1983, Canadian legislation surrounding sexual offences changed considerably. In order to reflect these changes, the Survey added the new violation code rather than collect historical offences under an existing violation code that did not reflect the state of Canadian legislation at the time of the offence.

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Note 3

Excludes sexual assaults against children and youth, which are reported as level 1, 2 or 3 sexual assault.

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Note 4

Includes sexual interference, invitation to sexual touching, sexual exploitation, luring a child via telecommunications/agreement or arrangement, making sexually explicit material available to a child for the purpose of facilitating sexual offences against children/youth, and the offences of parent or guardian procuring sexual activity, householder permitting prohibited sexual activity, agreement or arrangement of a sexual offence against a child, and bestiality in the presence of or inciting a child (s. 160(3)). Incidents of child pornography are not included in the category of sexual violations against children.

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Note 5

"Trafficking in persons" includes four specific indictable offences to address human trafficking, namely sections 279.01 (Trafficking in persons), 279.011 (Trafficking of a person under the age of eighteen years), 279.02 (Material benefit), and 279.03 (Withholding or destroying documents).

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Note 6

This offence was amended in 2015 in the former Bill C-13 Protecting Canadians from Online Crime Act to include all means of telecommunication, not only phone calls.

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Note 7

In December 2014, new legislation came into effect governing prostitution-related activities. The new legislation targets “the exploitation that is inherent in prostitution and the risks of violence posed to those who engage in it” (Criminal Code Chapter 25, preamble). New violations classified as “offences in relation to sexual services” under “violent crime” include: the purchasing of sexual services or communicating for that purpose, receiving a material benefit deriving from the purchase of sexual services, procuring of persons for the purpose of prostitution and advertising sexual services offered for sale. In addition, a number of other offences related to prostitution continue to be considered non-violent offences and are classified under “other Criminal Code offences”. These include communicating to provide sexual services for consideration and stopping or impeding traffic for the purpose of offering, providing or obtaining sexual services for consideration.

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Note 8

Includes trafficking and the intent to traffic stolen goods.

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Note 9

Includes altering/removing/destroying a vehicle identification number.

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Note 10

Due to the complexity of cyber incidents, these data likely reflect the number of active or closed investigations for the year rather than the total number of incidents reported to police. Data are based on police-reported incidents that are recorded in police services’ records management systems.

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Note 11

The offence of “child pornography” includes offences under section 163.1 of the Criminal Code which makes it illegal to access, possess, make, print, or distribute child pornography. When the actual victim is not identified, this offence is reported to the Uniform Crime Reporting Survey with the most serious offence being “child pornography” which falls under the larger crime category of “other Criminal Code offences”. In cases where an actual victim is identified, police will report the most serious offence as sexual assault, sexual exploitation or other sexual violations against children, which fall under the category of “violent crime” and child pornography may be reported as a secondary violation.

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Note 12

Includes seven terrorism violations which were introduced mid-year in 2013, as a result of the enactment of former Bill S-7 "An Act to amend the Criminal Code, the Canada Evidence Act and the Security of Information Act." An additional terrorism violation code was introduced in late 2015, as a result of the enactment of former Bill C-51 "Anti-terrorism Act." Due to the length of time for investigations to confirm whether or not the incident is founded, annual counts of terrorism offences are subject to revisions downwards when revised data are released one year after the initial release; therefore, changes between the current year of data and the previous year should be interpreted with caution.

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Note 13

Includes alcohol-impaired operation of a vehicle, alcohol-impaired operation of a vehicle causing death or bodily harm, failure or refusal to comply with testing for the presence of alcohol and failure or refusal to provide a breath or blood sample. In some jurisdictions, including British Columbia, impaired driving incidents that meet the elements of the Criminal Code may be handled using a provincial statute. Collection of these incidents is not within the scope of the Uniform Crime Reporting Survey.

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Note 14

Includes drug-impaired operation of a vehicle, drug-impaired operation of a vehicle causing death or bodily harm, failure or refusal to comply with testing for the presence of drugs and failure or refusal to provide a breath or blood sample. In some jurisdictions, including British Columbia, impaired driving incidents that meet the elements of the Criminal Code may be handled using a provincial statute. Collection of these incidents is not within the scope of the Uniform Crime Reporting Survey.

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Note 15

Reflects new impaired driving offences as per former Bill C-46 "An Act to amend the Criminal Code (offences relating to conveyances) and to make consequential amendments to other Acts" which came into effect part way through 2018.

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Note 16

Includes human trafficking violations under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. Data specific to these offences are not available prior to 2011.

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Note: Data for unfounded incidents are available from 2017 onward even though inconsistencies in reporting may still exist. Police-reported statistics may be affected by differences in the way police services deal with offences. In some instances, police or municipalities might choose to deal with some offences using municipal bylaws or provincial provisions rather than Criminal Code provisions. Counts are based on the most serious violation in the incident. One incident may involve multiple violations.
Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice and Community Safety Statistics, Uniform Crime Reporting Survey.
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