Table 6
Reporting to police, reasons for reporting, and reasons for not reporting, by violent, household, and personal victimization, Canada, 2019


Table 6
Reporting to police, reasons for reporting, and reasons for not reporting, by violent, household, and personal victimization, Canada, 2019
Table summary
This table displays the results of Reporting to police. The information is grouped by Reporting to police and reason(s) for reporting or not reporting (appearing as row headers), Violent victimization, Household victimization, Theft of personal property, percent and 95% confidence interval, calculated using from and to units of measure (appearing as column headers).
Reporting to police and reason(s) for reporting or not reporting Violent victimizationTable 6 Note 1 Household victimizationTable 6 Note 2 Theft of personal property
percent 95% confidence interval percent 95% confidence interval percent 95% confidence interval
from to from to from to
Incident was reported to police
Yes 24 20 30 35 32 38 28 24 33
By respondent 19 15 24 24 21 26 22 18 26
Some other way 5 3 8 10 9 13 6 4 8
No 74 69 79 65 62 67 72 67 76
Reason(s) for reporting to policeTable 6 Note 3
To stop the incident/receive protection 70 59 79 47 41 53 39 29 49
To arrest and punish the offender 60 48 70 60 54 66 57 48 67
To file a report or to claim insurance 15 9 25 45 39 52 42 32 53
Felt it was their duty to notify police 84 75 90 78 72 84 86 79 91
On the recommendation of someone else 25 16 37 17 13 23 23 16 32
Wanted to reclaim what was stolen/lost 8 4 15 37 31 43 42 32 52
To warn others 57 45 69 55 49 61 71 62 79
Reason(s) for not reporting to policeTable 6 Note 4
Fear of revenge 19 12 29 5 4 7 4 2 7
Wouldn't have found property/offender 18 13 24 57 53 61 54 48 60
Incident wasn't important enough 53 44 62 63 59 67 65 59 70
Unsatisfactory service from police in the past 13 8 19 16 13 19 8 6 11
Did not want to get the offender in trouble 30 21 40 7 5 9 4 2 8
Did not want the hassle of dealing with police 49 40 58 37 33 41 32 26 38
Reporting would bring shame and dishonour to the family 14 8 25 2 1 3 2 1 3
Incident was private/personal 48 39 57 25 21 28 21 17 27
Crime was minor 56 47 65 71 67 74 72 66 77
No one was harmed/there was no financial loss 47 38 57 50 46 54 48 42 53
No harm was intended 32 24 42 26 23 29 27 22 32
Offender wouldn’t be adequately punished 37 28 48 28 25 32 29 24 35
Feared or didn't want the hassle of the court process 32 24 41 22 19 26 24 18 30
Police would be biased 15 10 24 3 2 5 3 2 4
Insurance wouldn't cover it/police report not needed for a claim 5 3 9 16 13 19 12 10 16
Nothing was taken/everything was recovered 24 17 33 19 16 22 9 7 13
Incident was reported to another official 10 6 16 6 4 8 7 5 11
Wouldn't be believed 19 12 29 3 2 6 5 2 10
Shame or embarrassment 25 16 37 2 1 4 3 2 6
Didn't think it could be reported 29 20 41 16 13 18 18 14 23
Other reason 5 3 8 3 2 4 2 1 3
Note 1

Includes sexual assault, robbery, and physical assault.

Return to note 1 referrer

Note 2

Includes break and enter, motor vehicle (or parts) theft, theft of household property, and vandalism.

Return to note 2 referrer

Note 3

Among those who personally reported the incident to police. Respondents could identify as many reasons as applied.

Return to note 3 referrer

Note 4

Among those who said the incident was not reported to police. Respondents could identify as many reasons as applied.

Return to note 4 referrer

Source: Statistics Canada, General Social Survey on Canadians’ Safety (Victimization).
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