EDITORIAL: Yes, we have a crime problem

Toronto Police officers work around the scene of a shooting at the U.S. Consulate in Toronto, March 10, 2026. Photo by Cole Burston / AFP / Files / Getty Images A national poll released last week by Liaison Strategies on the public's perception of their safety in 15 Canadian cities revealed that crime statistics are not the only thing that forms our perceptions about whether a city is safe. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Only 12% said crime stats most influence their views compared to 28% who said they were based on news coverage, 23% on personal experience, 14% on the views of friends or family, 10% on the city's general reputation and 8% on social media. Toronto, for example, was judged to be one of Canada's least safe cities in the poll of 1,500 Canadian adults from Aug. 30-31, and yet crime statistics repeatedly show it to be one of the safest cities in North America. Similarly, a recent report by Statistics Canada said that nationally, Canada's crime severity index in 2025 dropped for the second year in a row – down 4.9% in 2025 and 4% in 2024 – while the violent crime severity index decreased by 4.2%. The national homicide rate dropped for the third year in a row – down 16%, the biggest year-over-year decrease in four decades. Read More This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Does that mean that Canadians are overreacting to crime based on media reports? Not if you put those numbers in context. Dave Snow, associate political science professor and graduate coordinator of the criminal justice and public policy program at the University of Guelph, recently reported on this issue in a paper written for the Macdonald-Laurier Institute titled, 'Crime is down, but the crisis isn't over – Understanding Canada's new crime statistics.' Snow noted that 'first and foremost, the improvements (in the crime rate) need to be understood in the context of trends over the last decade. 'The main contrast occurs with respect to violent crime. 'Between 2015 and 2025, the violent crime rate increased by 35% and the violent crime severity index by 29%. This shows that while non-violent crime has improved over the last decade, violent crime is still much more frequent and severe in 2025 than it has been for most of this century, despite the slight dip in 2025. It will take a far larger decrease in violent crime to make up for the increases of the previous decade.' All of which indicates the public is not overreacting to crime. Columnists NHL Toronto & GTA Columnists Toronto & GTA