Public Safety
Toronto is a safe city. In a recent poll, 78% of the residents
in the Toronto area reported that they felt safe walking the
streets of their neighborhood after dark, while 85% reported
satisfaction with police service. (Source: Ipsos-Reid Poll,
Toronto: Crime and Safety in the City, 2003).
Commercial districts are clean and pleasant. In the great
majority of residential areas, people do not hesitate to walk
at any hour of the day or night. There are dozens of districts
with lively nightlife and thousands of people stroll for pleasure
in the evenings.
Crime rates in the Greater Toronto Area are significantly
lower than in other North American cities of comparable size.
Overall crime rates have been steadily decreasing since 1994.
Homicides, muggings and crimes involving guns are relatively
rare. Petty crimes, crimes associated with liquor and substance
abuse, domestic disputes and robberies remain well below North
American averages.
The Toronto region has one of the lowest crime rates compared
to other metropolitan areas.
Crime rates for selected Criminal Code offences by
census metropolitan area (2003)
| |
Homicide |
Robbery |
Break-ins |
Motor vehicle theft |
Total Criminal Code Offences |
% change in rate 2002 to 2003 |
| Toronto CMA |
1.9 |
112 |
541 |
372 |
5,304 |
0.1 |
| Montreal CMA |
1.6 |
158 |
921 |
659 |
7,938 |
11.3 |
| Vancouver CMA |
2.1 |
153 |
1,350 |
1,261 |
11,576 |
4.5 |
| Canada |
n.a. |
n.a. |
n.a. |
n.a. |
8,132 |
5.5 |
Sources: Statistics Canada
Note: Rates are calculated per 100,000 population.
Total Criminal Code offences also include other Criminal Code
offences (excluding traffic) not shown in this table
Toronto ranks as one of the safest cities in North America.
Source: Relocation Crime Lab
Index. Note:
The Relocation Crime Lab Index gives the city's crime rate
relative to the national average of all the cities in the
database. A value of 200 means that the city has twice the
crime rate as the average city. The number of crimes reported
(not shown in this table) has been adjusted to yield a rate
per 100,000 people.
Top of Page |
