Prime Time Crime
Page 27
British Columbia - The Best Place on Earth -
Just ask our criminals
By Gerry Wickstead
Comparing Police Resources
Number of police officers per 100,000, International Ranking, 2000
Source: Statistics Canada Catalogue No. 85-225 Page 25 Police resources in Canada, 2003
Economic and Social Data Ranking, OECD; United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
|
Ranking |
Country |
Police per 100,000 population |
|
1. |
Italy |
559 |
|
2. |
Portugal (1997 data) |
459 |
|
3. |
Czech Republic |
445 |
|
4. |
Slovakia |
374 |
|
5. |
Greece (1997 data) |
373 |
|
6. |
Austria (1994 data) |
367 |
|
7. |
Ireland |
307 |
|
8. |
Spain |
293 |
|
9. |
Germany |
292 |
|
10. |
Hungary |
289 |
|
11. |
Poland |
260 |
|
12. |
Sweden (1997 data) |
257 |
|
13. |
Norway |
248 |
|
14. |
United States (1999 data) |
244 |
|
15. |
Iceland |
237 |
|
16. |
England and Wales |
234 |
|
17. |
Turkey (1997 data) |
227 |
|
18. |
Australia |
219 |
| 19. | France | 211 |
| 20. | Switzerland | 202 |
| 21. | Netherlands | 199 |
| 22. | Denmark | 195 |
| .23. | South Korea | 191 |
| 24. | CANADA (2000) | 182 |
| 24. | Japan | 182 |
| 24. | New Zealand (1997 data) | 182 |
| 27. | Finland | 158 |
| 28. | Belgium (1997 data) | 14 |
| 29. | Mexico (1994 data) | 5 |
| Saskatchewan | 201 | |
| Manitoba | 196 | |
| Quebec | 192 | |
| Ontario | 191 | |
| Nova Scotia | 172 | |
| British Columbia | 171 | |
| New Brunswick | 171 | |
| Alberta | 159 | |
| Prince Edward Island | 158 | |
|
Newfoundland/ Labrador |
148 |
Level of Policing in Canada, 2003 Source: Statistics Canada Catalogue 85-225 Page 21
Police Officers by Level of Policing, 2003
Source: Statistics Canada Police Resources in Canada 2003, Catalogue No. 85-225 Page 21
|
RANK |
Province (population) |
(2003) Criminal Incidents reported |
Total Police Officers 2003 |
% change 1993 to 2003 total police |
Police officers per 100,000 population |
% change in Rate 1993 to 2003 |
|
1st |
Saskatchewan (994,843) |
171,201 |
1,995 |
3.5 |
201 |
4.8% |
|
2nd |
Manitoba (1,162,776) |
155,468 |
2,278 |
5.6 |
196 |
1.5% |
|
3rd |
Quebec (7,487,169) |
530,395 |
14,368 |
-2.6 |
192 |
-6.9% |
|
4th |
Ontario (12,238,300) |
814,819 |
23,328 |
10.6 |
191 |
-3.4% |
|
|
CANADA * (31,629,677) |
2,810,236 |
58,356* |
5.8 |
Cdn Average 184 |
-4.0% |
|
5th |
Nova Scotia (936,025) |
86,150 |
1,608 |
0.3 |
172 |
-1.0% |
|
6th |
British Columbia (4,146,580) |
558,182 |
7,106 |
12.6 |
171 |
-3.1% |
|
7th |
New Brunswick (750,594) |
59,939 |
1,280 |
-0.9 |
171 |
-1.2 |
|
8th |
Alberta (3,153,723) |
349,831 |
4,999 |
9.4 |
159 |
-7.5% |
|
9th |
Prince Edward Island (137,781) |
13,027 |
218 |
13 |
158 |
8.3% |
|
10th |
Newfoundland and Labrador (519,570) |
35,010 |
768 |
-12.1 |
148 |
-1.9% |
* Canada total Police excluding RCMP headquarters and Training Academy (1,138 police)
British Columbia would require an additional 539 police officers to match the Canadian national average.
1,244 more police to match Saskatchewans police per capita ratio.
1,037 more police to match Manitobas police per capita ratio.
871 more police to match Quebecs police per capita ratio.
829 more police to match Ontarios police per capita ratio.
TOTAL EXPENDITURES ON POLICING, 2002
Source: Statistics Canada Catalogue No. 855-225 Page 22
Police Administration Survey, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics
|
Rank |
Province /Territory |
2002 Population |
Expenditures |
Per Capita Cost |
||
|
Municipal $000s |
Provincial $000s |
Total $000s |
||||
|
1 |
Quebec |
7,443,500 |
$1,002,080 |
$614,752 |
$1,616,832 |
$217 |
|
2 |
Ontario |
12,096,600 |
$2,026,658 |
$569,526 |
$2,596,184 |
$215 |
|
|
CANADA |
31,361,600 |
$4,341,886 |
$1,808,101 |
$6,149,987 |
$196 |
|
3 |
Manitoba |
1,155,500 |
$150,566 |
$61,191 |
$211,757 |
$183 |
|
4 |
Saskatchewan |
995,500 |
$106,276 |
$69,191 |
$175,468 |
$176 |
|
5 |
Alberta |
3,114,400 |
$430,288 |
$100,019 |
$530,307 |
$170 |
|
6 |
British Columbia |
4,115,000 |
$488,554 |
$166,436 |
$654,990 |
$159 |
|
7 |
Nova Scotia |
934,400 |
$70,978 |
$59,568 |
$130,545 |
$140 |
|
8 |
New Brunswick |
750,200 |
$58,693 |
$45,845 |
$104,538 |
$139 |
|
9 |
Newfoundland/Labrador |
519,300 |
|
$66,246 |
$66,246 |
$128 |
|
10 |
Prince Edward Island |
137,000 |
$7,793 |
$9,273 |
$17,067 |
$125 |
British Columbias police expenditures below Canadian national average.
BC ranked 6th among the 10 provinces for per capita spending on Policing.
Police Officer Counts and Rates per 100,000 population (2001)
From the Police Administration Survey, Canada, Provinces and Territories
Source: Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 85-002, Volume 24, no. 7 page 6
|
Rank |
Province |
Rates per 100,000 population |
Population (2001) 1 |
Police Officers |
% change in rates 1996-2001 |
|
1st |
Saskatchewan |
196 |
1,000,134 |
1,962 |
5% |
|
2nd |
Manitoba |
192 |
1,151,285 |
2,206 |
-2% |
|
3rd |
Quebec |
188 |
7,396,990 |
13,927 |
-1% |
|
4th |
Ontario |
186 |
1,897,647 |
22,175 |
2% |
|
|
CANADA |
184 |
31,021,251 |
57,076 |
0 |
|
5th |
New Brunswick |
176 |
749,890 |
1,317 |
2% |
|
6th |
Nova Scotia |
170 |
932,389 |
1,581 |
-3% |
|
7th |
British Columbia |
169 |
4,078,447 |
6,895 |
2% |
|
8th |
Alberta |
156 |
3,056,739 |
4,755 |
-3% |
|
9th |
Prince Edward Island |
149 |
136,672 |
203 |
-1% |
|
10th |
Newfoundland / Labrador |
147 |
521,986 |
767 |
-1% |
1.Populations are based on July 1st final postcensal estimates for 2001 provided by the Demography Division, Statistics Canada. Source: Police Administration Survey, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Statistics Canada
British Columbia would require an additional 611 police officers to match the Canadian national average.
1,101 more police to match Saskatchewans police per capita ratio.
938 more police to match Manitobas police per capita ratio.
775 more police to match Quebecs police per capita ratio.
693 more police to match Ontarios police per capita ratio.
Police officer counts from the Police Administration Survey will differ from those of the Census due to a number of methodological differences between the two data sources.
For instance, the Police Administration Survey includes counts of full-time officers and converts those working part-time into full-time equivalents ( e.g. four police officers working 10 hours per week equal 1 full-time police officer), and also excludes temporary police officers. For Census counts, however, part-time police officers are not converted to full-time equivalents and counts could include temporary police officers. And while the national counts from the Police Administration Survey include police officers from the RCMP Headquarters and Training Academy (which represent about 2% of all police officers, these figures are not included in the province where these centralized areas are located. Therefore, caution must be observed when making any comparisons between the Census and Police Administration data.
Police Officers by Level of Policing, 2000
Represents actual police strength as of June 15, 2000
Source: Statistics Canada Catalogue No. 85-225-XIE Page 19
|
Province/Territory
population |
Independent (non-RCMP) |
Royal Canadian Mounted Police |
Total Police Officers |
Police Officers per 100,000 population |
|||||
|
Municipal |
Provincial |
Munic. |
Provi. |
Federal |
Other |
Total RCMP |
|||
|
Quebec 7,349,100 |
9,132 |
3,768 |
|
|
915 |
20 |
935 |
13,835 |
188 |
|
Manitoba 1,147,900 |
1,280 |
|
172 |
512 |
152 |
26 |
862 |
2,142 |
187 |
|
Ontario 11,669,300 |
16,145 |
3,925 |
|
|
1,473 |
94 |
1,567 |
21,637 |
185 |
|
Saskatchewan 1,023,600 |
792 |
|
202 |
634 |
194 |
42 |
1,072 |
1,864 |
182 |
|
New Brunswick 756,600 |
478 |
|
190 |
492 |
109 |
40 |
831 |
1,309 |
173 |
|
Nova Scotia 941,000 |
731 |
|
58 |
644 |
142 |
25 |
869 |
1,600 |
170 |
|
British Columbia 4,063,800 |
2,116 |
|
2,524 |
1,347 |
592 |
129 |
4,592 |
6,708 |
165 |
|
Alberta 2,997,200 |
2,762 |
|
666 |
881 |
262 |
42 |
1,851 |
4,613 |
154 |
|
P. E. I. 138,900 |
84 |
|
7 |
88 |
21 |
5 |
121 |
205 |
148 |
|
Newfoundland 538,800 |
|
313 |
|
373 |
69 |
17 |
459 |
772 |
143 |
|
Yukon 30,700 |
|
|
|
82 |
27 |
11 |
120 |
120 |
391 |
|
NW Territories 42,100 |
|
|
|
132 |
11 |
11 |
154 |
154 |
366 |
|
Nunavut 27,700 |
|
|
|
76 |
4 |
6 |
86 |
86 |
311 |
One police officer for every 549 citizens
Source: Statistics Canada Catalogue No. 85-225-XIE Page 9
The number of police in Canada increased 1.3% to 56,020 officers in 2000, up from 55,321 officers in 1999.
The police per capita rate remained virtually unchanged at 182 police officers per 100,000 population.
This is equal to one officer for every 549 Canadians.
If the Province of British Columbia matched the CANADIAN AVERAGE of 182 police officers per 100,000 population then British Columbia would have an additional 691 Police Officers.