Two measures, the Crime Severity Index and the conventional crime rate, show a drop in crime.
We lose touch with reality at our peril. Delusions can be politically satisfying in the short-term, but they erode our ability to make effective decisions because making effective decisions depends upon a solid grasp of the truth.
So it is with all issues, including crime. While it’s easy to gain attention and go viral with claims that crime continues to worsen, the data says otherwise.
According to Statistics Canada, the Crime Severity Index dropped 5% in 2025, following a drop in 2024.
The conventional crime rate dropped 2% in 2025.
As noted by Statistics Canada, “this suggests that the overall severity of crime declined more than the volume of crime, as there was a steeper percentage decline in the CSI.”
When taking a longer view, Statistics Canada notes, “In 2025, the CSI was 37% lower than the peak in 1998 and 25% lower than the 2006 base year.”
Both violent and non-violent severe crime dropped, though both rates are higher than the 2014 trough.
Breaking & entering dropped 11%.
Car thefts dropped 16%.
Shoplifting was up 11%, and has increased for five consecutive years.
The homicide rate dropped 16%, and is now the lowest since 2014.
We still have much work to do in reducing crime. But things are objectively improving, and acknowledging this reality is the basis for continuing to make Canada safer.
Spencer Fernando
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