Rural crime fact sheets, 2023: Prince Edward Island
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Description for Map 1
Map of the province of Prince Edward Island.
Source: Statistics Canada, Variant of Standard Geographical Classification (SGC) 2021 for North and South.
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Demographic and household characteristics
In 2021, there were 162,133 people living in Prince Edward Island (PEI),Note with 37% of individuals living in rural areas of the province.Note
According to the most recent Census of Population, the proportion of people living in rural and urban areas of the province were similar across most age groups in 2021 (Table 1). More specifically, about two in five people living in both rural (40%) and urban (39%) areas were aged 35 to 64, and about one in five were 65 years of age and older (23% and 20% respectively). About one in five (21%) people living in rural areas were aged 15 to 34, slightly less than the one in four (25%) in urban areas of the same age.
Equal proportions of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit (Indigenous) peoples lived in rural (2%) and urban (2%) areas of the province. The proportion of immigrants in urban areas (10%) was more than double the proportion in rural areas (4%). Similarly, four times the proportion of people belonging to a racialized group lived in urban areas (12%) than rural areas (3%).
Among those aged 25 to 64 living in the province, large differences were noted at both the highest and lowest levels of educational attainment. More specifically, one-third (33%) of people living in urban areas obtained a bachelor’s degree or higher, slightly more than double the proportion among people living in rural areas (15%). In contrast, the proportion of people living in rural areas (14%) without a high school diploma or equivalent was double the proportion among people living in urban areas (7%).
People living in rural (65%) and urban (66%) areas had similar rates of labour force participation in 2021; however, the proportion of people that were unemployed in the province was slightly higher in rural (12%) than urban (9%) areas.
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, 34% of people living in PEI were served by a police service covering a predominantly rural area.Note
According to the Uniform Crime Reporting Survey, police services in rural PEI reported 3,212 Criminal Code violations (excluding traffic) in 2023, corresponding to a crime rate of 5,392 incidents per 100,000 population (Table 2).Note This rate was 18% lower than the rate in urban areas of the province (6,559 incidents per 100,000 population).
Compared to 2022, in 2023, the crime rate was 22% higher in rural areas and 18% higher in urban areas in the province. Similarly, from 2018 to 2023, the crime rate increased in both rural (+29%) and urban (+30%) areas.
Since 2013, the crime rate in PEI has generally fluctuated year over year; however, the crime rate in rural areas has been consistently lower than the rate in urban areas across all years (Chart 1). The largest gap in the crime rate was noted in 2013, where the crime rate in rural areas was 42% lower than the rate in urban areas of the province. The smallest gap in the rate was noted in 2021, where the crime rate in rural areas was 15% lower than the rate in urban areas.
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Data table for Chart 1
| Rural | Urban | |
|---|---|---|
| rate per 100,000 population | ||
| Note: Includes all Criminal Code violations except for traffic offences. Urban police services serve an area where the majority of the population lives within a census metropolitan area (CMA) or census agglomeration (CA). Rural police services serve an area where the majority of the population lives outside a CMA or CA. A CMA or a CA is comprised of one or more adjacent municipalities centred on a population centre (known as the core). A CMA must have a total population of at least 100,000, of which 50,000 or more must live in the core. A CA must have a core population of at least 10,000. To be included in the CMA or CA, adjacent municipalities must have a high degree of integration with the core, as measured by commuting flows derived from census data. A CMA or CA may have more than one police service. Rates are calculated on the basis of 100,000 population. Populations based on July 1 estimates from Statistics Canada, Centre for Demography. Excludes data from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s Canadian Police Centre for Missing and Exploited Children, and the Canadian Forces Military Police Group.
Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice and Community Safety Statistics, Uniform Crime Reporting Survey (Aggregate Database). |
||
| 2013 | 4,051 | 7,026 |
| 2014 | 3,529 | 5,514 |
| 2015 | 3,255 | 4,744 |
| 2016 | 3,583 | 4,835 |
| 2017 | 3,603 | 4,490 |
| 2018 | 4,174 | 5,061 |
| 2019 | 4,418 | 6,001 |
| 2020 | 4,109 | 5,011 |
| 2021 | 4,153 | 4,884 |
| 2022 | 4,411 | 5,548 |
| 2023 | 5,392 | 6,559 |
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Overall, the crime rate in rural areas of the province increased by 33% since 2013; urban areas saw a 7% decrease in the rate over the same period.
Characteristics of police-reported violent crime
Crimes that were violent in nature accounted for almost one-quarter of all police-reported crime in both rural (23%) and urban (23%) areas of the province in 2023. There were 866 violent crimes reported by police services in rural areas. The violent crime rate in rural areas (1,454 per 100,000 population) was 14% lower than the rate in urban areas (1,689).
Similarly, the crime rate for most violent offences was lower in rural areas than in urban areas of the province. For example, the rate of uttering threats was 11% lower in rural than in urban areas.
The most common type of violent crime in both rural (36%) and urban (46%) areas were assault and firearm-specific offences.Note The rate of these offences was 33% lower in rural (520 per 100,000 population) than urban (772) areas of the province. Since 2018, rural areas had a 4% decrease in the rate of assault and firearm-specific offences. In comparison, there was a 57% increase in the rate of these offences in urban areas during this time. Both rural (+15%) and urban areas (+30%) saw increases in the rate from 2022 to 2023.
Characteristics of police-reported non-violent crime
In 2023, rural police services in the province reported 1,750 incidents of property crime. The property crime rate in rural areas was 17% lower (2,938 incidents per 100,000 population) than the rate in urban areas (3,547). Similarly, rates of some specific property crime violations, such as breaking and entering (-18% in rural areas), were lower in rural than in urban areas. Notably, the rate of theft of $5,000 or underNote in rural areas (572 incidents per 100,000 population) was less than half the rate in urban areas (1,519).
Motor vehicle theft accounted for similar proportions of all property crime in both rural (5%) and urban (3%) PEI in 2023. The rate of motor vehicle thefts in rural areas (143 incidents per 100,000 population) was 40% higher than the rate in urban areas (102). Rural and urban areas of the province have seen large increases in the rate of police-reported motor vehicle theft since 2018. More specifically, the rate of motor vehicle theft increased by 46% in rural areas and by 34% in urban areas from 2018 to 2023. The increase in the rate of motor vehicle theft from 2022 to 2023 was more pronounced in both rural (+88%) and urban (+63%) areas.
In 2023, there were 596 police-reported incidents of other Criminal Code offences in rural areas. The rate of other Criminal Code offences in rural areas was 24% lower than the rate in urban areas (1,000 and 1,322 incidents per 100,000 population, respectively). Similarly, rural areas had lower rates of specific other Criminal Code offences than urban areas, such as administration of justice violations (-25% in rural areas) and disturbing the peace (-16%).
In contrast, the rate of drug offences was 26% higher in rural areas (104 incidents per 100,000 population) than in urban areas (83) of the province in 2023. Compared to 2022, the rate of drug offences slightly increased in rural areas (+4%) and remained relatively stable in urban areas (+1%). However, since 2018 there were overall sharp declines in the rate of drug offences in both rural (-23%) and urban (-45%) areas.Note
Rates of Criminal Code traffic violations (+8% in rural areas) and other federal statute violations (+109%) were higher in rural areas compared with urban areas.
Characteristics of victims of police-reported violent crime
In 2023, women and girls accounted for over half of victims of police-reported violent crime in both rural (56%) and urban (53%) areas of the province (Table 3). There were 317 women and girl victims of police-reported violent crime in rural areas. The violent crime rate among women and girls was 16% lower in rural areas (1,055 victims per 100,000 women and girls) compared with urban areas (1,253).
Similarly, the violent crime rate among men and boys was also lower in rural areas; men and boys were victims of violent crime at a rate that was 26% lower in rural areas (857 victims per 100,000 men and boys) than in urban areas (1,165).
Overall, women and girls were victims of violent crime at a higher rate than men and boys in the province. The difference was more pronounced among women and girl victims in rural areas, who had a violent crime rate that was 23% higher than men and boys in the same area. In urban areas, the violent crime rate of women and girls was 8% higher than that of men and boys.
The violent crime rates in rural areas were higher than the rates in urban areas for the youngest and oldest age groups. In rural areas, children and adolescents under the age of 18 (+8% in rural areas) and adults 65 and older (+35%) were victims of violent crime at higher rates than the same aged victims in urban areas. In contrast, violent crime rates were 25% lower for victims aged 18 to 44 and 30% lower for those aged 45 to 64 in rural areas compared with their urban area counterparts.
Most victims of police-reported violent crime in both rural (85%) and urban (78%) areas of the province knew the person accused in the incident. The accused was most commonly someone other than an intimate partner or family member in both rural (39%) and urban (42%) areas.Note
Similar proportions of victims in rural (23%) and urban (22%) areas were victimized by an intimate partner.Note In rural areas, almost one-quarter (23%) of victims were victimized by a non-spousal family member,Note more than the proportion of victims in urban areas (14%).
In 2023, about three in ten victims of police-reported violent crime in both rural (31%) and urban (30%) areas sustained a physical injury.
Characteristics of police-reported violent crime incidents
In 2023, a small proportion of police-reported violent incidents in rural (7%) and urban (11%) areas involved the presence of a weapon (Table 4). The rate of violent incidents involving a weapon was 40% lower in rural areas (94 incidents per 100,000 population) than in urban areas (156).
A private residence was the most common location for incidents of police-reported violent crime in both rural and urban areas; however, a larger proportion of incidents in rural areas (75%) than in urban areas (59%) occurred in this location. In contrast, a larger proportion of incidents of violent crime in urban areas occurred in another commercial or non-residential location (23%) or on public transportation, streets, roads or open areas (18%) than incidents in rural areas (14% and 11%, respectively) of the province.
A police-reported incident can be classified as not cleared,Note cleared by charge or “cleared otherwise”.Note Overall, a slightly smaller proportion of incidents in rural areas (34%) than in urban areas (38%) were cleared (i.e., cleared by charge or cleared otherwise). More specifically, slightly over one in five incidents in rural areas (22%) were cleared by the laying or recommendation of charges, compared with almost three in ten (28%) incidents in urban areas. In contrast, similar proportions of incidents were cleared otherwise in both rural and urban areas (12% and 10%, respectively).
Family and intimate partner violence
In 2023, rural areas of the province recorded a rate of police-reported intimate partner violence (IPV) that was 21% lower than the rate in urban areas (244 and 308 incidents per 100,000 population aged 12 and over, respectively) (Table 5).
Overall, women and girls disproportionately experienced higher rates of IPV across the province. Rates for women and girls were over seven times higher in rural areas (426 incidents per 100,000 women and girls aged 12 and over) and over three times higher in urban areas (475) compared with the rates for men and boys (57 and 131 incidents per 100,000 men and boys aged 12 and over).
Since 2013, there has been an increase in the rate of police-reported IPV across the province (Chart 2). More specifically, in rural areas, there was a 14% increase in the rate between 2013 (213 incidents per 100,000 population aged 12 and over) and 2023 (244). This increase was less pronounced than the 42% increase recorded in urban areas during this time (219 incidents per 100,000 population aged 12 and over in 2013 and 311 in 2023).
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Data table for Chart 2
| Rural | Urban | |
|---|---|---|
| rate per 100,000 population | ||
Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice and Community Safety Statistics, Uniform Crime Reporting Survey (Trend Database). |
||
| Family violenceData table for Chart 2 Note 1 – 2013 | 295 | 209 |
| Family violenceData table for Chart 2 Note 1 – 2023 | 317 | 266 |
| Intimate partner violenceData table for Chart 2 Note 2 – 2013 | 213 | 219 |
| Intimate partner violenceData table for Chart 2 Note 2 – 2023 | 244 | 311 |
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Unlike IPV, rural (316 incidents per 100,000 population) areas of the province recorded a rate of police-reported family violenceNote that was 21% higher than the rate in urban (262) areas (Table 5).
Family violence rates were highest for women and girl victims. More specifically, rural areas recorded a family violence rate against women and girls (409 incidents per 100,000 women and girls) that was 86% higher than the rate for men and boys (220 incidents per 100,000 men and boys). Similarly, the rate was 86% higher for women and girls (338) in urban areas compared to men and boys (182).
Between 2013 and 2023, rates of police-reported family violence increased across the province (Chart 2). More specifically, the rate increased by 8% in rural areas (295 incidents per 100,000 population in 2013 and 317 in 2023) and 27% in urban areas (209 and 266, respectively) during this time.
Rates of family violence and IPV were highest among victims aged 18 to 44 (Table 5). This was the case for women and girl victims in both rural and urban areas of the province. In contrast, rates were highest for men and boy victims aged 17 and younger in both rural and urban areas.
Among women and girl victims of police-reported family and intimate partner violence, a larger proportion in rural areas (37%) sustained a physical injury compared with urban areas (30%); inversely, the proportion of men and boy victims of these types of violence that sustained an injury was lower in rural (30%) than in urban (36%) areas.
Characteristics of accused persons
In 2023, rates of persons accused of police-reported crime were lower in rural areas than urban areas for all age groups of women and girls accused, and almost all age groups of men and boys accused (Table 6).
Women and girls were accused of violent crime and property crime at a lower rate in rural areas, compared to urban areas, for all age categories. In contrast, the rate at which men and boys were accused varied by type of crime, geographical area, and age category. For example, boys aged 12 to 17 years old had a lower rate of being accused of crime in rural areas than in urban areas for all crime categories. This pattern was consistent for accused men aged 45 and older. In contrast, men aged 18 to 24 were typically accused at a higher rate in rural than urban areas, except for property crime.
In general, across various types of crime and age categories, men and boys were typically accused at a higher rate than women and girls in rural and urban areas.
Overall, a smaller proportion of incidents of police-reported crime where an accused person was identified had charges laid or recommended in rural than urban areas of the province (Table 7). This was the case across different crime categories and generally the case across different age groups of accused.Among incidents where an accused person was identified, a larger proportion of incidents involving an adult accused in rural (59%) and urban (72%) areas had charges laid or recommended, compared with incidents involving a youth accused in those regions (48% and 64%, respectively).
Incidents involving an accused youth in rural areas were more commonly cleared otherwise (52%) than incidents involving an accused youth in urban areas (36%). In comparison, about two in five (41%) incidents involving an adult accused in rural areas and over one-quarter (28%) in urban areas were cleared otherwise.
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