Table 3
Previous contact with police or criminal courts, by population group or Indigenous identity, Canada, 2019


Table 3
Previous contact with police or criminal courts, by population group or Indigenous identity, Canada, 2019
Table summary
This table displays the results of Previous contact with police or criminal courts. The information is grouped by Previous contact and reason(s) for contact (appearing as row headers), Population group or Indigenous identity, Black, First Nations, Métis, or Inuit, Other group designated as visible minority, Non-Indigenous, non-visible minority, percent and 95% confidence interval, calculated using from and to units of measure (appearing as column headers).
Previous contact and reason(s) for contact Population group or Indigenous identityTable 3 Note 1
Black First Nations, Métis, or Inuit Other group designated as visible minority Non-Indigenous, non-visible minorityTable 3 Note †
percent 95% confidence interval percent 95% confidence interval percent 95% confidence interval percent 95% confidence interval
from to from to from to from to
Contact with police in past 12 months
YesTable 3 Note 2 32 25 41 45Note * 39 51 28Note * 25 31 36 35 37
Public information session 3Note * 2 6 9 6 14 7 5 9 6 6 7
Work or volunteering 10 6 15 14 11 18 9Note * 7 11 13 12 14
Traffic violation 13 9 19 12 9 16 9Note * 7 10 11 10 12
As a victim of crime 4 2 8 7 5 11 4 3 5 4 4 5
As a witness to a crime 3Note * 1 6 8 6 12 3Note * 2 4 5 5 6
By being arrested Note F: too unreliable to be published Note F: too unreliable to be published Note F: too unreliable to be published 1 0.6 3 Note F: too unreliable to be published Note F: too unreliable to be published Note F: too unreliable to be published 0.5 0.3 0.7
Due to problems with emotions, mental health, alcohol or drug use Note F: too unreliable to be published Note F: too unreliable to be published Note F: too unreliable to be published 3 1 6 Note F: too unreliable to be published Note F: too unreliable to be published Note F: too unreliable to be published 0.7 0.5 1
Due to a family member's problems with emotions, mental health, alcohol or drug use Note F: too unreliable to be published Note F: too unreliable to be published Note F: too unreliable to be published 10Note * 7 14 2Note * 1 3 3 2 3
Any other reason 8 4 14 11Note * 8 16 5Note * 4 7 7 6 8
No 66 57 73 55Note * 49 61 72Note * 69 75 64 63 65
Overall perception of experience(s) with policeTable 3 Note 3
Positive 81Note E: Use with caution 70 88 80Note * 72 87 85 80 89 89 87 90
Negative 19Note E: Use with caution 11 30 18 12 26 15 11 20 11 9 12
Ever had contact with Canadian criminal courts
Yes 17 11 25 37Note * 32 43 10Note * 8 11 22 21 23
No 78 69 86 63Note * 57 68 90Note * 88 92 77 76 78
E use with caution
F too unreliable to be published
Note *

significantly different from reference category (p < 0.05)

Return to note * referrer

Note †

reference category

Return to note † referrer

Note 1

Information on Indigenous identity and belonging to a population group designated as visible minority is captured in two separate questions. Having separate questions and variables encourages data users to take into account the differences between these groups, including in terms of their history, background, geographic distribution, and current conditions and situations. These distinctions should be considered when collecting data and planning, monitoring, and evaluating programs and services. For the purposes of this report, in order to have a consistent reference category across all sections, the questions on Indigenous identity and population group have been partially combined in order to create the category of “Non-Indigenous, non-visible minority”. This category includes respondents who indicated they were not Indigenous people and provided responses to the question on population group which indicated that they are not a visible minority according to the Employment Equity Act, which is the basis for the current question on population group used in the General Social Survey and the Canadian Legal Problems Survey.

Return to note 1 referrer

Note 2

As respondents could mention as many types of contact as applicable, "Yes" category does not equal the sum of all of the types of contact.

Return to note 2 referrer

Note 3

Based on those who had contact with police in the past 12 months.

Return to note 3 referrer

Source: Statistics Canada, General Social Survey on Canadians' Safety (Victimization), 2019.
Date modified: