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Police-reported crime statistics in Canada, 2017: Highlights
* Police-reported crime in Canada, as measured by the Crime Severity Index (CSI), increased for the third consecutive year in 2017. The CSI measures the volume and severity of police-reported crime in Canada, and has a base index value of 100 for 2006. In 2017, the national CSI increased 2% from 71.7 in 2016 to 72.9, but the index was 24% lower than a decade earlier in 2007.
* The change in the CSI in 2017 was the result of increases in police-reported rates of numerous offences, most notably sexual assault (level 1), possession of stolen property, motor vehicle theft, and homicide. A 2% decline in the rate of breaking and entering mitigated the impact of these increases on the CSI.
* At 5,334 incidents per 100,000 population, the police-reported crime rate-which measures the volume of policereported crime-increased 1% in 2017. This rate was 23% lower than a decade earlier in 2007.
* There were over 1.9 million police-reported Criminal Code incidents (excluding traffic) reported by police in 2017, almost 45,300 more incidents than in 2016.
* In 2017, the overall volume and severity of violent crime-as measured by the violent CSI (or VCSI)-was 80.3, 5% higher than the previous year. More than half of the increase was the result of increases in the rates of policereported incidents of sexual assault (level 1), homicide, and robbery. The police-reported violent crime rate, which measures the volume of violent police-reported crime, increased 3% to 1,098 incidents per 100,000 population. Rates for almost all violent violations increased.
* The overall volume and severity of non-violent crime-as measured by the non-violent CSI (or NVCSI)-remained unchanged in 2017 as increases in the possession of stolen property and motor vehicle theft were offset by a decline in other offences, particularly breaking and entering.
* After notable increases in property offences in 2015, there was no noticeable change in the overall rate of policereported property crime in 2016 and a 1% increase in 2017. The property offences with notable increases in 2017 were possession of stolen property (+15%), theft of $5,000 or over (+10%) and motor vehicle theft (+6%). However, their overall impact on the rate of property crime was offset by a 2% decline...