Perceptions of neighbourhood safety after dark

Proportion of the population by degree to which they feel safe from crime when walking alone in their area after dark.

This indicator is measured in the General Social Survey (GSS) - Canadians' Safety (Victimization) and the Canadian Housing Survey (CHS). Survey respondents are asked:

How safe do you feel from crime walking alone in your area after dark? Do you feel….?

• Very safe
• Reasonably safe
• Somewhat unsafe
• Very unsafe
• Do not walk alone

If you felt safer from crime, would you walk alone in your area after dark more often?

• Yes
• No

This indicator is measured through multiple Statistics Canada surveys. Estimates can vary between data sources due to differences in reference periods, targeted or sampled populations, data collection and other methodology.

• General Social Survey (GSS) - Canadians' Safety (Victimization)
  Data tables are available in the following publications:
  • Victimization of First Nations people, Métis and Inuit in Canada (Juristat, July 19, 2022)
    • Table 17 – Perceptions of police and the criminal justice system and feelings of safety, by Indigenous identity group, Canada, 2019
  • Violence against seniors and their perceptions of safety in Canada (Juristat, July 7, 2022):
    • Table 3 – Senior and non-senior perceptions of community belonging, neighbourhood crime and sense of safety, by age group and gender, Canada, 2019
  • Women's experiences of victimization in Canada's remote communities (Juristat, April 26, 2022):
    • Table 4 – Women's perceptions of neighbourhood, safety and community, including availability of victims' services in their area, by relative remoteness of area of residence, Canada, 2019
  • Violent victimization and perceptions of safety: Experiences of First Nations, Métis and Inuit women in Canada (Juristat, April 26, 2022):
    • Table 11A – Perceptions of crime, neighbourhood and safety, and criminal courts among women, by Indigenous identity, Canada, 2019
    • Table 11B – Perceptions of crime, neighbourhood and safety, and criminal courts among women, by Indigenous identity group, Canada, 2019
  • Violent victimization and discrimination among visible minority populations, Canada, 2014 (Juristat, April 12, 2018):
    • Table 6 – Perceptions of safety, by visible minority status, Canada, 2014
  • Canadians' perceptions of personal safety and crime, 2014 (Juristat, December 12, 2017):
    • Table 1 – Sense of safety when walking alone in one's neighbourhood after dark, overall satisfaction with personal safety from crime and confidence in the police, by province, census metropolitan area or census agglomeration, 2014
    • Table 2 – Sense of safety, by selected sociodemographic characteristics, Canada, 2014
    • Table 3 – Sense of safety, by selected population groups, Canada, 2014
    • Table 4 – Sense of safety, by selected victimization experiences, Canada, 2014
    • Table 5 – Sense of safety, by selected housing and neighbourhood characteristics, Canada, 2014
    • Table 6 – Sense of safety, by selected neighbourhood and community perceptions, Canada, 2014
• Canadian Housing Survey (CHS)
  • Table 43-10-0058-01 – Feeling part of the community and neighbourhood satisfaction, safety feeling and economic hardship, by visible minority and selected characteristics

• A look at subsidized housing in Canada (Statistics Canada – Infographics, April 11, 2023)
• COVID-19 and visible minority groups' perceptions of safety (Statistics Canada – Infographics, July 8, 2020)

• Women living in subsidized housing in Canada (Insights on Canadian Society, April 11, 2023)
• Criminal victimization of First Nations, Métis and Inuit people in Canada, 2018 to 2020 (The Daily, July 19, 2022)
• Violence against seniors and their perceptions of safety in Canada (The Daily, July 7, 2022)
• Women's experiences of victimization in Canada's remote communities (The Daily, April 26, 2022)
• Violent victimization and perceptions of safety: Experiences of First Nations, Métis and Inuit women in Canada (The Daily, April 26, 2022)
• Criminal victimization in Canada, 2019 (The Daily, August 25, 2021)
• Canadians' perceptions of personal safety since COVID-19 (The Daily, June 9, 2021)
• Community Safety and Crime (A Presentation Series from Statistics Canada About the Economy, Environment and Society, October 20, 2020)
• Perceptions of safety of Indigenous people during the COVID-19 pandemic (The Daily, August 14, 2020)
• Safe Cities profile series: Key indicators by census metropolitan area (Juristat, May 15, 2020)
• Satisfaction of Canadian households with their neighbourhood: Highlights from the 2018 Canadian Housing Survey (Income Research Paper Series, November 22, 2019)
• Police-reported violence against girls and young women in Canada, 2017 (The Daily, December 17, 2018)
• Violent victimization and discrimination among visible minority populations, Canada, 2014 (The Daily, April 12, 2018)
• Violent victimization, discrimination and perceptions of safety: An immigrant perspective, Canada, 2014 (The Daily, April 12, 2018)
• Canadians' perceptions of personal safety and crime, 2014 (The Daily, December 12, 2017)

The following study includes data from the Survey on Individual Safety in the Postsecondary Student Population (SISPSP) on students' feelings of safety when walking alone on campus after dark: Students' experiences of discrimination based on gender, gender identity or sexual orientation at postsecondary schools in the Canadian provinces, 2019 (The Daily, September 15, 2020).

The Impacts of COVID-19 on Canadians: Data Collection Series collected information from crowdsourcing participants on perceptions of neighbourhood safety after dark during the pandemic in an iteration that ran in May 2020 entitled Impacts of COVID-19 on Canadians - Perceptions of Safety. Respondents were asked:

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, how safe do you feel from crime when walking alone in your neighbourhood after dark?

• Very safe
• Reasonably safe
• Somewhat unsafe
• Very unsafe
• Do not walk alone after dark

Unlike other surveys conducted by Statistics Canada, crowdsourcing data are not collected under a design using probability-based sampling. Therefore, caution should be exercised when interpreting the findings, and no inferences about the overall Canadian population should be made based on these results.