More than half of British Columbians fear for their safety, survey suggests

Police tape is shown at a crime scene in this file photo dated Oct. 18, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

A new province-wide survey suggests more than half of British Columbians don’t feel safe in their communities, with respondents citing ongoing concerns about crime and violence.

The findings come even after national statistics suggested that overall crime trends have eased, with Statistics Canada reporting in July of last year that the crime severity index fell four per cent in 2024.

That drop came after three annual increases in a row, the national statistics agency said at the time, adding that non-violent crimes significantly impacted the decline in the overall crime severity index.

However, the latest survey suggests British Columbians still feel uneasy in their communities.

The Research Co. poll of 1,210 B.C. residents was conducted for Save Our Streets, a community safety organization.

The survey found 73 per cent of those polled said crime and violence are impacting their quality of life, and 37 per cent said they’ve been the victim of a recent crime.

Fifty-three per cent of people said they feared for the safety of their families in their community, and 56 per cent said they actively avoid areas within their community due to safety concerns.

The survey also found respondents linking safety concerns to broader social issues, with 87 per cent pointing to addiction and mental illnesses contributing to crime and public safety issues.

Ninety per cent of people polled said they believe crimes often go unreported in the province, while 48 per cent of victims confirmed they had not reported the crimes.

Seventy-one per cent of victims expressed a lack of confidence in the justice system as the reason for not reporting them.

“Eighteen months ago, our first survey showed British Columbians were extremely unhappy with how government, law enforcement and the health-care system were addressing disorder, public safety, retail crime, and mental health and addictions issues,” said Save Our Streets co-founder Jess Ketchum in a news release Monday, adding that this latest survey shows little has changed.

“Despite some authorities saying progress is being made, British Columbians are not feeling or seeing any difference in their communities. What they are seeing is residents of their community continuing to be victimized, stores having their windows smashed, other stores closing, and the rights of repeat offenders being placed above their right to go outside their home and not fear for their safety,” Ketchum said.

According to Save Our Streets, the decline in some reported crimes may be due to people’s reluctance to report the incidents.

“The truest measure of what is going on in B.C. communities is the feedback we received from the people that live there, the families that are nervous about visiting their city parks, people who are afraid to venture downtown, or store owners concerned about the safety of their employees and customers, and worried about how long they can keep bearing the costs of property damage, rising insurance rates and theft,” added Ketchum.

The survey found between 72 and 84 per cent of respondents expressed support for new approaches to addressing the drug crisis, including investments in treatment facilities, expanded education and awareness efforts, and housing supports tied to detox and recovery programs.

“British Columbians recognize that mental health and addictions are a primary cause of much of the public safety issues in their communities and that those are health issues,” said Ketchum. “It’s time for the federal and provincial governments to recognize that too, and work together to put in place the transformative changes and the continuum of care that British Columbians struggling with these health issues deserve for the sake of all of us who call this province home.”

The survey was conducted province-wide from Jan. 26 to 28 among 1,210 British Columbians, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.