New data from Statistics Canada shows police-reported crime is down across the country. According to StatCan, the conventional crime rate – which includes Criminal Code offences but excludes traffic offences – dropped 2 per cent in 2025. The crime severity index, or CSI, dropped to a value of 75.01 in 2025. StatCan describes CSI as a measurement that “reflects changes in the volume of crime relative to the population, the average severity of crime, or both.” The number, in this case 75.01, is based on a standardized value of 100 which serves as a comparison baseline. The violent CSI also dropped 4 per cent, while the non-violent CSI fell 5 per cent in 2025. By comparing the conventional crime rate to the crime severity index, StatCan says in a news release, the numbers suggest “the overall severity of crime declined more than the volume of crime, as there was a steeper percentage decline in the CSI.” Here’s a look at key trends in police reported crimes. Fewer reported breaking and entering incidents For the third straight year, police-reported breaking and entering rates dropped. StatCan says this crime is the largest contributor the drop in the CSI, as breaking and entering is the most severely weighted property crime. The amount of police-reported break and enters declined 11 per cent to 264 incidents per 100,000 population. The break and enter rate fell in all provinces and territories. Less motor vehicle theft There were 83,652 total incidents of police-reported vehicle thefts in 2025, down 16 per cent to 201 incidents per 100,000 population. The drop marks the second consecutive year of vehicle theft decline. StatCan says the 2025 rate was 64 per cent lower than the crime’s peak in 2003. Minor theft declines but shoplifting rises While the overall crime rates declined, StatCan data reveals some violations rose in 2025. Shoplifting of $5,000 or under jumped for the fifth year in a row. The number of police-reported shoplifting incidents jumped 11 per cent from 2024. However, minor theft – or theft under $5,000 – sank 5 per cent in 2025. It was the third straight year of decline in police-reported minor theft. While shoplifting was on the rise and minor theft was on the decline, there were still more overall reported incidents of minor theft than shoplifting. Child sexual abuse and exploitation material down StatCan’s data shows a decline in the rate of child sexual abuse and exploitation material (CSAEM) incidents. Reported instances of the crime, formerly known as child pornography, dropped 21 per cent in 2025. There were 36 incidents per 100,000 population. However, StatCan says “police-reported incidents of CSAEM undercount the occurrence of these crimes in Canada,” explaining that annual totals likely reflect the number of investigations, rather than all identified cases. StatCan also points out the complexity of CSAEM investigations should be considered when interpreting the total numbers. Fraud and extortion decline There were 492 incidents of police-reported fraud, which includes general fraud, identity theft and identity fraud. That marks a 4 per cent dip compared to 2024. Police-reported extortion, which StatCan describes as “a violent crime that involves obtaining property through coercion,” was down 10 per cent. However, the numbers show extortion incidents are still three times higher than a decade earlier. When interpreting the numbers for both fraud and extortion, StatCan says many of these crimes go unreported to police. Homicide rate drops There were 672 homicides in 2025, a drop of 125 compared to 2024. That represents a decline of 16 per cent. StatCan says the drop marks the largest year-over-year decline in homicides since 1986. The numbers reveal that, “while men and boys accounted for the majority (74 per cent) of homicide victims, women were disproportionately killed by their spouses or intimate partners (41 per cent versus 5 per cent).” Gang-related homicides also decreased from 155 in 2024 to 119 in 2025. StatCan’s numbers show that homicide victimization rates continue to be significantly higher among Indigenous people. In 2025, the homicide victimization rate in the Indigenous population was about eight times higher than the non-indigenous population.
