The police-reported crime rate in the provinces and the Crime Severity Index (CSI) are consistently higher on a year-over-year basis in rural areas than in urban areas. In 2023, the police-reported crime rate was 34% higher in rural areas than in urban areas.
Rural areas across Canada's provinces vary in terms of their demographic, economic and geographic characteristics, particularly between the northern and southern areas of the provinces (see Note to readers). Therefore, the level of police-reported crime is not the same in all rural areas across the country. An examination of rural crime reflects numerous different situations and contexts across the Canadian provinces.
The Juristat article "Characteristics of police-reported crime in rural areas in the Canadian provinces, 2023," released today, uses police-reported data from the Uniform Crime Reporting Survey to examine incidents, victims and persons accused of crime to highlight differences between rural and urban areas across the provinces.
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