Rural crime fact sheets, 2023: New Brunswick

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Demographic and household characteristics

The province of New Brunswick was home to 790,802 people in 2021. Among them, 37% lived in the province’s rural areas, while the remaining 63% resided in urban areas.^Note 

According to the most recent Census of Population, rural areas were home to slightly more people aged 35 years and older than urban areas (68% versus 62%) (Table 1). Specifically, a larger proportion of rural residents were aged 65 years and older (26% versus 21%), while a larger percentage of urban residents were 15 to 34 years of age (23% versus 19%).

A similar proportion of First Nations peoples, Métis and Inuit (Indigenous) lived in rural and urban areas (6% and 4%, respectively). Meanwhile, a larger proportion of urban residents were immigrants or non-permanent residents (9%, versus 5% of rural residents). Similarly, residents who were members of a visible minority group made up a larger proportion of urban residents than rural residents (8% versus 2%).

Educational attainment varied between the rural and urban areas of New Brunswick, with almost double the proportion of urban residents aged 25 to 64 years reporting having attained a bachelor’s degree or higher (28% versus 15% in rural areas). A larger percentage of rural residents reported having a high school diploma or less (47%, versus 35% of urban residents).

A slightly larger proportion of people living in urban areas were in the labour force (62%) in 2021 compared to those in rural areas (57%), meaning slightly more people in rural areas were retired, disabled, or otherwise not working or looking for work. The unemployment rate for those who were in the labour force was relatively close in urban and rural areas (9% and 12%).

The proportion of households falling into the various after-tax income brackets were generally comparable between rural and urban areas. Urban areas reported a somewhat larger proportion of households earning $100,000 or more (23%, versus 18% of households in rural areas). The proportion of households that met the threshold of low-income^Note  was similar in rural and urban areas (15% versus 13%).

It is important to note that the nature and extent of crime is influenced by various demographic, social and economic characteristics. For more information, see Characteristics of police-reported crime in rural areas, 2023: Provincial fact sheets.

Characteristics of police-reported crime

In 2023, 39% of New Brunswick residents lived in an area served by a police service whose jurisdiction was primarily rural.^Note  That year, police services in rural areas reported 19,852 incidents of Criminal Code violations (excluding traffic)^Note  , translating into a rate of 6,689 incidents per 100,000 population. In urban areas, the rate was slightly lower (6,527, a difference of 2%) (Table 2). The crime rate in the rural areas of the province increased by 3% from 2022, though the increase since 2018 was considerably larger (+46%).^Note  In urban areas, the crime rate was stable from 2022 and showed a moderate increase from 2018 (+10%).

Historically since 2013, the urban crime rate was considerably higher than the rural crime rate (Chart 1). This gap began to narrow in 2020, and by 2022, the crime rates in the two regions were almost identical. Since 2022, rural crime rates have surpassed those in urban areas.

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Characteristics of police-reported violent crime

The rate of police-reported violent crime was higher (+17%) in rural areas of New Brunswick (1,988 incidents per 100,000 population) than in urban areas in 2023 (1,694) (Table 2). Rates of all types of violent crime were higher in rural areas, with the exception of robbery. Assaults and firearm-specific offences were the violent offences which occurred at the highest rates in both rural and urban areas of the province (945 incidents per 100,000 versus 907) and made up the largest proportion of incidents of violent crime (48% of incidents in rural areas and 54% in urban areas).

A larger difference was seen with respect to robbery: though this type of violent crime was comparatively rare across regions, rates were much higher (+163%, or 2.7 times) in urban areas (27 incidents per 100,000 versus 10), unlike other types of violent crime.

Both rural and urban areas of the province saw the violent crime rate grow in 2023: in rural areas, violent crime increased by 2% from 2022 and 52% from 2018, and increases were also seen in urban areas over these same time periods (+2% and +24%).

Characteristics of police-reported non-violent crime

Police services in rural areas of New Brunswick reported 10,909 incidents of property crime in 2023, translating to a rate of 3,675 incidents per 100,000 population in 2023 (Table 2). This rate was similar to what was reported by police services in urban areas (3,713). Notably, the rural property crime rate showed considerably larger increases than the corresponding rate in urban areas: in rural areas, the rate increased 4% from what was reported in 2022 and 48% from 2018, while urban areas saw little change from 2022 (-1%) and a modest increase from 2018 (+8%).

The most common type of police-reported property crime in rural areas in 2023 was mischief (1,170 incidents per 100,000). Mischief made up almost one-third (32%) of all property crime in rural areas and increased by 7% from 2022 and 60% from 2018. In urban areas, the most common type of property crime reported by police was theft of $5,000 or under^Note  (1,525 incidents per 100,000), which represented 41% of property crime and increased 2% from 2022 and 13% from 2018.

The rate of other Criminal Code offences in rural New Brunswick was 1,025 incidents per 100,000 population in 2023, slightly lower (-8%) than the rate in urban areas (1,120) (Table 2). Offences against the administration of justice—which include violations like breaches of conditions—were the highest-volume offence types in this category of crime in both rural and urban areas, accounting for 39% of other Criminal Code violations in rural areas and 55% in urban areas. The rate of administration of justice violations was lower (-35%) in rural areas than in urban areas (400 versus 611 incidents per 100,000, respectively). These rates have remained mostly stable in urban areas over time, while there was some variation in the rates in rural areas. Larger differences were seen with disturbing the peace violations, which increased by 66% since 2018 in rural areas, while declining by 19% in urban areas.

Characteristics of victims of police-reported violent crime

Across the province, women and girls represented a similar proportion of victims of police-reported violent crime in 2023 (53% of victims in rural areas 51% in urban areas) (Table 3).

Like violent crime overall, rates of violence against women and girls were somewhat higher in rural areas (1,778 victims per 100,000 women and girls) than in urban areas (1,468). While the same was seen with violence against men and boys, the gap between their rates was smaller (1,571 victims per 100,000 men and boys in rural areas versus 1,428 in urban areas).

Among victims of violent crime in rural areas, just over 8 in 10 (82%) knew the person accused of the crime, while just under three-quarters (73%) of victims in urban areas knew the accused. Comparatively, violence committed by a stranger was less common in rural areas (18%) than in urban areas (27%).

The same proportion of victims in rural areas and urban areas had been victimized by a current or former intimate partner^Note  (26% respectively). When it came to victimization by a family member other than a spouse,^Note  the proportion of victims was higher in rural areas compared to urban areas (20% versus 14%).

In both rural and urban areas, about one quarter of victims of violence sustained physical injuries as a result of the incident (25% of victims in rural areas and 26% of those in urban areas).

Characteristics of police-reported violent crime incidents

A weapon was present in 13% of violent criminal incidents reported by rural police services in 2023, a similar proportion to what was reported in urban areas (14%) (Table 4). The rate of violent incidents with a weapon present was slightly higher (+7%) in rural areas than in urban areas (228 incidents per 100,000 population versus 214).

A private residence was the location where 7 in 10 (71%) incidents of violent crime occurred in rural areas in 2023, a much larger proportion than what occurred in urban areas (59%). In urban areas, larger proportions of incidents occurred in commercial or non-residential locations (23% versus 18% in rural areas) or on public transportation, streets, roads or open areas (18% versus 12% in rural areas).

Criminal incidents can be cleared (i.e., solved) by police through either the laying or recommendation of charges or through other means, or they can remain uncleared (i.e., an accused person has not been identified).^Note  In rural areas, 3 in 10 (30%) violent incidents were cleared by police in 2023; in urban areas, this proportion was just over one-third (35%) (Table 4). A quarter (25%) of violent incidents in rural areas resulted in charges being laid or recommended against an accused person, similar to what was noted in urban areas (26%).

Family and intimate partner violence

Rates of intimate partner violence (IPV) were highest among women and girl victims, in both rural and urban areas (Table 5).^Note  In rural areas, rates of IPV among women and girls (744 per 100,000 women and girls aged 12 and older) were 3 times higher than rates among men and boys (240), while in urban areas, they were just under 3 times higher (614 versus 217, respectively).

Over time, the rate of police-reported IPV has risen across the province. In rural areas, the rate of IPV increased by 48% from 2013 to 2023 (Chart 2). In urban areas, the rate of IPV increased by 40% during that time.

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As with IPV, rates of family violence^Note  were higher among women and girls than men and boys across the province (Table 5). In rural areas, the rate of family violence against women and girls (657 victims per 100,000 women and girls) was 67% higher than the rate against men and boys (392). In urban areas, rates of family violence against women and girls were almost two times higher than among men and boys (493 per 100,000 versus 261).

Rates of family violence increased from 2013, with rural areas seeing a particularly large increase (+44%, versus +27% in urban areas) (Chart 2).

In both rural and urban areas, rates of IPV and family violence were highest among people aged 18 to 44 (including both women and girls and men and boys who were victims) (Table 5). The gap between women and girls and men and boys when it came to rates of these forms of violence was largest with this age group, and grew smaller among older victims.

In both rural and urban areas, just under three in ten of victims of IPV and family violence sustained injuries (28% of victims in rural areas and 29% of victims in urban areas).^Note 

Characteristics of accused persons

Overall, men aged 25 to 44 years had the highest rates of being accused of crime in 2023 in both rural (5,122 accused per 100,000 men in that age group) and urban (5,413) areas of New Brunswick (Table 6). This was the case for property crime (1,523 and 1,610, respectively) and other Criminal Code offences (1,473 and 2,118, respectively). When it came to violent crime, accused rates among men in rural areas were highest among those aged 25 to 44 (2,217 per 100,000 population), but in urban areas, those aged 12 to 17 years had the highest rates (1,737).

Notably, rates for women and girls were highest among those aged 25 to 44 years for both total crime and property crime. However, for violent crime in both rural and urban areas, the highest rates of women and girls accused were in the 12 to 17 years age group.

A person accused of committing a police-reported crime can have the incident of which they are accused be cleared by the laying or recommending of a charge, or it can be cleared otherwise.^Note  When it came to crime overall, the proportion of accused adults whose incidents were cleared by charge was similar in rural and urban areas (81% and 82%, respectively) (Table 7).

This was the case with property crime specifically, for which similar proportions of accused adults saw charges laid or recommended by police (75% in rural areas and 76% in urban areas). Proportions differed for violent crime, with a larger percentage of adults in rural areas seeing charges laid or recommended (85% versus 80% in urban areas), and for other Criminal Code offences, where a larger percentage of adults in urban areas had incidents cleared by charge (87% versus 81% in rural areas). These patterns were similar across all adult age groups.

When it came to youth accused that were cleared by charge, proportions were lower than among adults for most types of crime (as per the requirements of the Youth Criminal Justice Act). Overall, a larger proportion of youth in rural areas were cleared by the laying or recommending of charges (62% versus 55% in urban areas). This was the case across all three categories of crime, with the largest gap between rural and urban youth being recorded with respect to other Criminal Code offences (87% of youth accused in rural areas cleared by the laying or recommendation of charges, versus 62% in urban areas).

Tables

Table 1 Demographic and household characteristics, by rural or urban area, New Brunswick, 2021

Table 2 Police-reported crime, by selected violation, rural or urban area, New Brunswick, 2023

Table 3 Police-reported violent crime, by victim characteristic, rural or urban area, New Brunswick, 2023

Table 4 Police-reported violent crime, by incident characteristic, rural or urban area, New Brunswick, 2023

Table 5 Police-reported family violence and intimate partner violence, by victim characteristic, rural or urban area, New Brunswick, 2023

Table 6 Police-reported crime, by gender and age group of accused persons, rural or urban area, New Brunswick, 2023

Table 7 Police-reported crime, by age group of accused, incident clearance status, rural or urban area, New Brunswick, 2023