SAFETY
Public and personal safety affects the way we socialize and participate in community life.
Using your WITS
Safety
Using your WITS
WITS stands for: Walk away, Ignore, Talk it out, Seek help. Together, these strategies are being used by children across Canada and the region to reduce discrimination and bullying, and promote kindness in elementary schools—all thanks to the WITS Programs Foundation.
WITS was initially founded in Greater Victoria in 1997, and provides teachers, parents, and students with a common language to discuss peer victimization, through fun programs and educational materials that are easily used in classrooms. WITS also provides Focus Modules for educators to teach important topics, such as diverse abilities, race and Indigenous cultures, and gender identities. Program materials are packed with age-appropriate children’s books, downloadable lesson plans, and activities.
Recently, with help from a Victoria Foundation Community Grant in 2024, WITS has been building its digital resources, including an engaging online game that helps students navigate bullying scenarios in school settings. Executive Director Andy Telfer says they’re also working on an “Inclusion Strategies Project” — a new program “to encourage children to include, accept, and be curious about people who are different than themselves.”
“We want to help students proactively create a generation without discrimination,” says Andy.
CREST
Photo by: Jo-Ann Richards, Works Photography
Vital signs citizen survey grade
C+Last year's grade was C+
Safety
Vital signs citizen survey grade
C+Sustainable Development Goals
Sustainable Development Targets
POLICE-REPORTED INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE
Police-reported intimate partner violence victims in 2023
VICTORIA CMA
250 per 100,000 population
higher than the rates in 2022 and 2019 
lower than the rates in 2021 and 2020
BRITISH COLUMBIA289 per 100,000 population
CANADA354 per 100,000 population
Rate of victims of police-reported intimate partner violence, by sex of victim, per 100,000 population, 2023
| Total | Female | Male | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | 354 | 550 | 155 |
| BC | 289 | 444 | 130 |
| Victoria CMA | 250 | 371 | 120 |
In 2019, 80% of spousal victims in Canada did not report the violence they experienced to police. Among spousal victims at the provincial level, reporting to police in 2019 was lower than 20 years earlier (19% vs. 28% in 1999).
SOURCE: STATISTICS CANADA
POLICE-REPORTED FAMILY VIOLENCE
Police-reported family violence victims in 2023
VICTORIA CMA
237 per 100,000 population higher than the rates in each of the four years, 2019-2022
BRITISH COLUMBIA279 per 100,000 population
CANADA352 per 100,000 population
Rate of victims of police-reported family violence, by sex of victim, per 100,000 population, 2023
| Total | Female | Male | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | 352 | 474 | 222 |
| BC | 279 | 382 | 174 |
| Victoria CMA | 237 | 315 | 150 |
Rate of child and youth family violence victims in Victoria CMA in 2023
Children 11 years and under
301 per 100,000 child population
Youth aged 12-17 years
340 per 100,000 youth population
SOURCE: STATISTICS CANADA
COMMUNITY IN FOCUS
Compassionate Care is a Call Away
For people experiencing a mental health crisis, the Community Response, Care & Leadership (CRCL) Teams offer mobile, non-emergency support through a Peer Assisted Care Team model. Operated by AVI Health and Community Services and staffed by mental health professionals and people with lived experience, CRCL teams focus on well-being, connection, and culturally safe support. When a person in crisis calls the hotline, dispatch completes an assessment and sends a team to provide immediate crisis support, including help navigating resources for follow-up. Developed by the Canadian Mental Health Association, BC Division, CRCL is funded by the Province of BC.
SOURCE: AVI HEALTH AND COMMUNITY SERVICES
OVERALL CRIME RATE
Criminal violations (Criminal Code and Federal Statute violations) per 100,000 population in 2024
5820 Victoria CMA down from 6,169 in 2023
7490 British Columbia
6134Canada
SOURCE: STATISTICS CANADA
VIOLENT CRIME
Violent crimes per 100,000 population in 2024
1435 Victoria CMA down from 1,452 in 2023
1498British Columbia
1433Canada
SOURCE: STATISTICS CANADA
SEXUAL ASSAULTS
Sexual assaults (level 1, 2 and 3) per 100,000 population in 2024
84 Victoria CMA 379 total incidents up from a rate of 73 in 2023
78British Columbia
89Canada
In 2019, only 6% of self-reported incidents of sexual assault in Canada were reported to police.
SOURCE: STATISTICS CANADA
YOUTH CRIME
Youth, aged 12-17 years, charged with criminal violations per 100,000 youth population in 2024
908Victoria CMA 218 total youth up from a rate of 895 in 2023
710British Columbia
1375Canada
SOURCE: STATISTICS CANADA
YOUTH SENSE OF SAFETY
Youth, aged 12-19 years, in South Vancouver Island reported in 2023
90% often or always felt safe in their neighbourhood during the day, similar to 2018 but lower than a decade earlier (94% in 2013)
68% often or always felt safe in their neighbourhood at night, similar to 2018 but lower than 2013 (71%), and higher than their provincial counterparts (64%) in 2023.
Males were the most likely to feel safe in their neighbourhood. In 2023, 93% of males in SVI often or always felt safe in their neighbourhood during the day, compared to 89% of females and 78% of non-binary youth.
SOURCE: MCCREARY CENTRE SOCIETY
THEN & NOW
From our first Vital Signs report (2006):
In 2005, there were 260 (876 incidents) motor vehicle theft violations per 100,000 population in the region. In 2024, the rate had dropped to 68 (298 incidents) per 100,000 population.
SOURCE: STATISTICS CANADA
Learning