National Police Week

To mark National Police Week, we would like to salute the 70,566 police officers we counted on May 15, 2022, and thank them for the 11.9 million calls for service they responded to in 2021/2022.

There were 181 police officers for every 100,000 Canadians in 2022, down from 184 one year earlier and the lowest level since the early 1970s. While there were 406 more police officers in Canada on May 15, 2022, compared with the same day one year earlier, there was a greater increase in Canada’s population, which grew by just under half a million over the same period, leading to a lower rate of police strength per 100,000 people.

Despite a slight dip in the number of officers, overall police-reported crime, as measured by the Crime Severity Index, was virtually unchanged from one year earlier and eight percentage points lower compared with prior to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019.

Almost one in four police officers in Canada are women

Just under one-quarter (23%) of police officers we counted on May 15, 2022, were women, up from one-fifth (20%) one decade earlier.

The share of racialized police officers has also risen over the same period.

Approximately 4% of police officers in Canada on May 15, 2022, identified as First Nations, Métis or Inuit, just below their share of the population overall, at 5%.  

In First Nations police services, just over half of police officers self-identified as Indigenous.

A nod to the Mounties…

Of course, no story about policing in Canada would be complete without a nod to those who wear the Red Serge.

Close to 19,000 Mounties were counted on May 15, 2022, 13% of whom self-identified as racialized and 7% as Indigenous.

… and the civvies

For every 2.2 police officers, there is one “civilian” taking care of all the administrative and professional work that is integral to modern police service.

We counted 32,717 full-time equivalents and recruits working for the police as of May 15, 2022. Most (88%) were civilian employees, 7% were special constables and 6% were recruits.

Women accounted for over two-thirds of the civilian personnel within police services, over one-third of the special constables and over one-quarter of all recruits.

Police on call for thee

Along with all their other duties, police officers responded to over 11.9 million calls for service from Canadians in 2021/2022, up 2.7% from one year earlier and equivalent to 1,356 calls every hour.

Municipal police services handled 61% of these calls for service, the RCMP responded to 25%, provincial police services to 13% and First Nations police services to 1%.

After accounting for inflation, total police operating expenditures were up 8% from one year earlier. On a per capita basis, police operating expenditures amounted to $342 per person in 2021/2022.

No mystery in our police-reported crime data

Every year, police services across Canada track crime in their area and confidentially share the data with Statistics Canada.

We, in turn, share them with you through our Canadian Statistical Geospatial Explorer Hub.

With a few clicks, you can find out the level of police-reported crime in your area.