Canada’s overall crime rate ticked up another 2% in 2023, spurred in part by a large spike in child pornography incidents. The latest data from the Crime Severity Index marks the third year in a row that crime has increased.
There were 21,417 incidents of police-reported child pornography in Canada last year, marking an increase of over 50%, compared to 2022.
The Crime Severity Index was created to augment conventional and self-reported crime rate data, evaluating both the number and severity of crimes reported in a given year.
According to CSI data, “the rate of police-reported child pornography (also sometimes referred to as child sexual exploitation or abuse material) increased 52% in 2023 to 53 incidents per 100,000 population.”
Statistics Canada said that the massive increase is likely tied to more cases being reported to “specialized provincial Internet child exploitation police units and the National Child Exploitation Crime Centre.”
Of the incidents reported, the overwhelming majority involved a cybercrime component.
“Relatively high proportions of child pornography and sexual violations against children included a cyber component,” read the CSI report. “For instance, 79% of incidents of child pornography and 20% of sexual violations against children were recorded by police as cybercrimes.
“In 2023, nearly all (97%) of the increase in child pornography incidents involved those with a cybercrime component,” it continued.
Of the 21,417 incidents of child pornography reported by police in 2023, the bulk of incidents, 76%, involved making or distributing said material.
The remaining 24% of incidents involved possessing or accessing child pornography.
British Columbia saw the largest increase in incidents last year, responsible for 79% of the increase.
Alberta accounted for 14% of the increase, while Manitoba saw a decrease.
Other crimes varied year-over-year and provincially.
Reports of homicide and sexual violations against children were both down in 2023.
However, extortion reports increased by 35% and robberies by 4%.
Assault committed with a deadly weapon or causing bodily harm also saw an increase of 7%.
Unsurprisingly, auto thefts rose for the third year in a row, up 5% from 2022 and 24% higher than its pre-COVID-19 pandemic level.
Ontario and Quebec saw the largest increases in auto theft, with an increase of 16% and 15%, respectively, while the three prairie provinces also recorded decreases in 2023.
The CSI is one of several metrics for measuring crime in Canada.