Statcan - posted here on Nov. 16, 2006
Police strength in Canada, as measured by the number of police officers for every 100,000 population, has reached its highest level in over a decade.
As of May 15, 2006, Canada had almost 62,500 police officers, a gain of about 1,400 from the previous year.
This represents a rate of 192 officers for every 100,000 population, up 2% from 2005 and the highest rate since 1994. Police strength reached its peak in 1975 at 206 officers per 100,000 population. After declining during much of the 1990s, police strength has generally been on the rise this decade.
Canada's rate is still well below those in other industrialized nations. For example, police strength ranges from 222 to 262 officers per 100,000 population in the United States, Australia and England and Wales.
For the sixth year in a row, Saskatchewan had the highest rate for police strength in Canada at 205 police officers per 100,000 population. Saskatchewan has also had the highest crime rate since 1997. While Quebec reported the second highest rate of police strength, it also has one of the lowest crime rates in the country.
The lowest rates of police strength were reported in Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island. These provinces also have relatively low crime rates.
During the past decade, Saskatchewan and British Columbia have recorded the largest increases in police strength. All other provinces have shown smaller increases or remained relatively stable.
Among census metropolitan areas, Thunder Bay reported the most officers per 100,000 population, followed by Winnipeg, Montréal and Regina. The lowest rates were in Saguenay, Sherbrooke, Kingston, and Ottawa.
Female officers continue to increase at a faster pace than their male counterparts. Canada had over 11,200 female officers in 2006, up 6% from the previous year. The number of male officers increased 2%.
Women now account for 18% of police officers in Canada, compared to 10% a decade ago.
Police strength, the volume and type of crimes, and the complexity of police investigations are among the many factors which may affect clearance rates, defined as the proportion of all crimes solved by police. Since the mid-1970s, overall police clearance rates have remained relatively stable at around 33%.
However, clearance rates for violent crimes have generally been declining in recent years. In the early 1990s, 75% of all violent crimes were solved by police, compared to 70% in 2005.
In 2005, spending on policing totaled about $9.3 billion, an average of $288 per Canadian. This was a 4% increase over 2004 after adjusting for inflation and the ninth consecutive increase in policing costs in constant dollars.