Victoria indicatorsPolice-reported crime
74.6 Crime Severity Index
Statistics Canada index: crimes weighted by seriousness, set to 100 in 2006.
No target found. Who could set one: The region’s police boards and the Province of B.C.. B.C. 92.4. Targets and comparisons
The Crime Severity Index and the crime rate can read differently: the index weights each crime by how serious it is, while the rate counts each crime once. In 2025 the index changed +4.8% and the rate +5.8%. See also crimes by type.
Source: Statistics Canada. We read it on Nov 11, 2026.
Over time
Crime Severity Index: Greater Victoria, City of Victoria, B.C. and Canada
2025 Index (Canada 2006 = 100), by year
- Greater Victoria 74.6
- City of Victoria (police service) 161.2
- British Columbia 92.4
- Canada 75.0
M municipal election: Oct 15, 2022P provincial election: Oct 24, 2020; Oct 19, 2024F federal election: Sep 20, 2021; Apr 28, 2025
Crime Severity Index: Greater Victoria, City of Victoria, B.C. and Canada
2025 Index (Canada 2006 = 100), by year
- Greater Victoria 74.6
- City of Victoria (police service) 161.2
- British Columbia 92.4
- Canada 75.0
M municipal election: Oct 20, 2018; Oct 15, 2022P provincial election: May 9, 2017; Oct 24, 2020; Oct 19, 2024F federal election: Oct 19, 2015; Oct 21, 2019; Sep 20, 2021; Apr 28, 2025
Crime Severity Index: Greater Victoria, City of Victoria, B.C. and Canada
2025 Index (Canada 2006 = 100), by year
- Greater Victoria 74.6
- City of Victoria (police service) 161.2
- British Columbia 92.4
- Canada 75.0
M municipal election: Nov 19, 2011; Nov 15, 2014; Oct 20, 2018; Oct 15, 2022P provincial election: May 17, 2005; May 12, 2009; May 14, 2013; May 9, 2017; Oct 24, 2020; Oct 19, 2024F federal election: Jan 23, 2006; Oct 14, 2008; May 2, 2011; Oct 19, 2015; Oct 21, 2019; Sep 20, 2021; Apr 28, 2025Local elections before 2011 are not marked.
Crime Severity Index: Greater Victoria, City of Victoria, B.C. and Canada
2025 Index (Canada 2006 = 100), by year
- Greater Victoria 74.6
- City of Victoria (police service) 161.2
- British Columbia 92.4
- Canada 75.0
M municipal election: Nov 19, 2011; Nov 15, 2014; Oct 20, 2018; Oct 15, 2022P provincial election: May 16, 2001; May 17, 2005; May 12, 2009; May 14, 2013; May 9, 2017; Oct 24, 2020; Oct 19, 2024F federal election: Nov 27, 2000; Jun 28, 2004; Jan 23, 2006; Oct 14, 2008; May 2, 2011; Oct 19, 2015; Oct 21, 2019; Sep 20, 2021; Apr 28, 2025Local elections before 2011 are not marked.
More charts (1)
Violent Crime Severity Index: Greater Victoria, B.C. and Canada
2025 Index (Canada 2006 = 100), by year
- Greater Victoria 85.4
- British Columbia 98.0
- Canada 97.2
M municipal election: Nov 19, 2011; Nov 15, 2014; Oct 20, 2018; Oct 15, 2022P provincial election: May 16, 2001; May 17, 2005; May 12, 2009; May 14, 2013; May 9, 2017; Oct 24, 2020; Oct 19, 2024F federal election: Nov 27, 2000; Jun 28, 2004; Jan 23, 2006; Oct 14, 2008; May 2, 2011; Oct 19, 2015; Oct 21, 2019; Sep 20, 2021; Apr 28, 2025Local elections before 2011 are not marked.
Targets and comparisons
No target found
No target for Greater Victoria’s Crime Severity Index found in the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General 2026/27 to 2028/29 Service Plan (February 2026) or the Victoria Police Department’s strategic plan page, as of November 12, 2026. Who could set one: the region’s police boards and the Province of B.C.
Documents checked: Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General 2026/27 to 2028/29 Service Plan (February 2026); Victoria Police Department strategic plan page (viewed November 12, 2026).
The British Columbia and Canada lines are shown for comparison. They are not a goal.
Show the numbers as a table
| Period | Greater Victoria | City of Victoria (police service) | British Columbia | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 74.6 | 161.2 | 92.4 | 75.0 |
| 2024 | 71.2 | 152.2 | 93.9 | 78.8 |
| 2023 | 80.2 | 170.6 | 104.6 | 81.3 |
| 2022 | 74.9 | 154.4 | 100.3 | 78.7 |
| 2021 | 72.7 | 153.5 | 96.4 | 74.9 |
| 2020 | 75.8 | 162.6 | 97.0 | 73.9 |
| 2019 | 73.7 | 128.6 | 104.0 | 79.7 |
| 2018 | 63.7 | 117.2 | 88.7 | 75.6 |
| 2017 | 60.4 | 111.0 | 87.1 | 73.6 |
| 2016 | 62.1 | 116.6 | 91.7 | 72.0 |
| 2015 | 70.2 | 135.2 | 92.7 | 70.4 |
| 2014 | 60.9 | 112.0 | 90.2 | 66.9 |
| 2013 | 57.8 | 101.2 | 87.7 | 68.9 |
| 2012 | 70.3 | 125.3 | 94.5 | 75.5 |
| 2011 | 72.9 | 132.9 | 96.7 | 77.6 |
| 2010 | 87.3 | 159.5 | 104.1 | 82.9 |
| 2009 | 93.2 | 163.2 | 111.8 | 87.8 |
| 2008 | 103.3 | 177.3 | 121.8 | 90.6 |
| 2007 | 107.9 | 193.1 | 132.4 | 95.3 |
| 2006 | 117.0 | 211.4 | 139.8 | 100.0 |
| 2005 | 108.1 | 201.8 | 146.3 | 101.3 |
| 2004 | 116.2 | 221.7 | 153.4 | 104.1 |
| 2003 | 113.7 | 226.0 | 154.7 | 106.8 |
| 2002 | 113.5 | – | 148.1 | 104.1 |
| 2001 | 117.3 | – | 146.6 | 105.3 |
| 2000 | 123.1 | – | 144.7 | 106.7 |
| 1999 | 141.8 | – | 155.8 | 111.2 |
| 1998 | 145.4 | – | 166.9 | 118.8 |
| Period | Greater Victoria | British Columbia | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 85.4 | 98.0 | 97.2 |
| 2024 | 81.0 | 95.9 | 101.4 |
| 2023 | 74.5 | 97.7 | 101.0 |
| 2022 | 90.8 | 101.3 | 99.0 |
| 2021 | 83.0 | 95.4 | 93.4 |
| 2020 | 73.6 | 90.9 | 88.0 |
| 2019 | 64.7 | 91.5 | 90.2 |
| 2018 | 61.3 | 75.0 | 83.5 |
| 2017 | 63.1 | 74.4 | 81.3 |
| 2016 | 55.9 | 73.5 | 76.9 |
| 2015 | 67.1 | 81.5 | 75.3 |
| 2014 | 57.0 | 76.1 | 70.7 |
| 2013 | 53.3 | 79.7 | 74.0 |
| 2012 | 64.7 | 90.6 | 82.0 |
| 2011 | 73.0 | 96.0 | 85.7 |
| 2010 | 85.5 | 104.0 | 89.2 |
| 2009 | 82.5 | 112.8 | 94.3 |
| 2008 | 82.3 | 115.9 | 95.1 |
| 2007 | 80.7 | 117.7 | 97.8 |
| 2006 | 81.5 | 120.9 | 100.0 |
| 2005 | 74.2 | 119.5 | 98.5 |
| 2004 | 83.9 | 120.2 | 96.0 |
| 2003 | 89.3 | 117.1 | 97.6 |
| 2002 | 91.9 | 121.2 | 96.2 |
| 2001 | 97.2 | 117.3 | 97.2 |
| 2000 | 109.9 | 122.2 | 97.8 |
| 1999 | 120.7 | 133.5 | 99.4 |
| 1998 | 133.2 | 132.5 | 97.8 |
How it compares
Statistics Canada, 2025, index (Canada 2006 = 100). Comparisons are not goals.
Who decides
Government of Canada and Parliament. Makes criminal law, including the rules on release before trial (bail) and sentencing. Criminal Code (Part XVI, release before trial; Part XXIII, sentencing)
Show the 3 other bodies and the laws
| Body | What it decides | Law or bylaw |
|---|---|---|
| Government of Canada and Parliament | Makes criminal law, including the rules on release before trial (bail) and sentencing. | Criminal Code (Part XVI, release before trial; Part XXIII, sentencing) |
| Province of B.C. | Approves and conducts prosecutions, and sets standards for policing. | Crown Counsel Act, s. 2 Police Act, s. 40 |
| Municipal councils of Greater Victoria (13) | Municipalities of more than 5,000 people must provide policing: their own police department or an RCMP agreement. | Police Act, s. 3 |
| Municipal police boards | Police boards run their municipal police departments and prepare their budgets. | Police Act, s. 26 Police Act, s. 27 |
Councils: last general local election October 17, 2026; next on October 19, 2030, the third Saturday of October set by the Local Government Act, s. 52. Province: last general election October 19, 2024; next set for October 21, 2028 unless called earlier (Constitution Act, s. 23). Canada: last general election April 28, 2025; next set for October 15, 2029 unless called earlier (Canada Elections Act, s. 56.1).
Each row says what a body decides and links to the law, order or bylaw that gives it that role. It does not say who caused a change: markets, households and other governments also move these numbers. Who decides what, for every measure · How we choose
What this number does not show
- The index counts only crime reported to or found by police. Changes in how willing people are to report, or in police practices, can move it.
One more limit
- Each offence is weighted by how serious it is, so one serious offence can move the number more than many minor ones.
Not measured yet in safety: response times: fire and bylaw, police response times, crime that is never reported and more. See all 17 gaps
In plain words
Up 4.8% in a year. Up 1.2% since 2019.
Statistics Canada's Crime Severity Index for the whole metropolitan area, which combines how much crime is reported to police with how serious it is.
How we decide “About the same”
The change is 4.8% of the earlier value, below the 5% threshold.
A lower number means less, or less serious, police-reported crime. 74.6 in 2025 compared with 71.2 in 2024 (+4.8%).
Outcome measures read Better, Worse or About the same; published government targets read Ahead of, On or Behind target; value-judgement measures read Rising, Falling or Steady in a neutral colour. A change smaller than the agency's own margin of error, or otherwise smaller than 5% of the earlier value, is About the same (or Steady). No change is calculated across a marked break in a series. The rule.
All notes on this number
Why it matters. It is the standard way to compare police-reported crime over time. It does not measure how safe any person feels.
- The index counts only crime reported to or found by police. Changes in how willing people are to report, or in police practices, can move it.
- Each offence is weighted by how serious it is, so one serious offence can move the number more than many minor ones.
- It is not a measure of how safe any person or neighbourhood is.
- The area follows police-reporting boundaries for the Victoria census metropolitan area, which includes several municipalities, not only the City of Victoria.
- Yearly values since 2014: 2014: 60.9, 2015: 70.2, 2016: 62.1, 2017: 60.4, 2018: 63.7, 2019: 73.7, 2020: 75.8, 2021: 72.7, 2022: 74.9, 2023: 80.2, 2024: 71.2, 2025: 74.6.
- The chart goes back to 1998, the first year Statistics Canada publishes the index. The area follows police-reporting boundaries, which Statistics Canada notes do not always match the census metropolitan area exactly; its table notes no change for Victoria over this period.
- The City of Victoria line is Statistics Canada’s index for the Victoria police service (table 35-10-0063-01). From 2020 it covers the City only; Esquimalt is counted separately. It starts in 2003. The City figure has its own page.
Also on this page
- Crime compared with B.C. and Canada: 74.6 index points, Greater Victoria (Calendar year 2025)
These were separate pages. Their charts are above, and their old addresses lead here.
Which places
Area: Greater Victoria (CMA)
The police services that serve Statistics Canada’s Victoria metropolitan area.
Included
- Crime reported to the police services that serve the Victoria metropolitan area (municipal police and RCMP detachments)
- The metropolitan area covers: Victoria, Saanich, Oak Bay, Esquimalt, View Royal, Langford, Colwood, Highlands, Metchosin, Sooke, Central Saanich, North Saanich, Sidney, part of the Juan de Fuca electoral area and eight First Nations reserves
Not included
- Salt Spring Island
- Southern Gulf Islands (Galiano, Mayne, Pender and Saturna islands)
- Port Renfrew area (Juan de Fuca electoral area, part 2)
- Police boundaries do not match municipal boundaries exactly, so Statistics Canada matches police services to the area as closely as it can
Official definition
How the agency describes it: Victoria census metropolitan area (police-reporting boundaries).
How we got it
This number is published by the agency as shown; it is not calculated here. The script reads it from the agency’s own file.
Licence and credits
Published under an open licence: anyone may reuse it with credit. About licences.
- Updated by agency
- Annually (published in July); latest release Jul 22, 2026
- Retrieved
- Nov 11, 2026, 8:19 PM B.C. time
Adapted from Statistics Canada, table 35-10-0026-01. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.
Inputs and results
What this pays for, or what goes into it
Inputs are money, staff or decisions; results are what services delivered. One does not prove the other moved. Kinds of measure
What goes into this
Spot a mistake?
Email [email protected]. Fixes are listed in the corrections log.