Crime is a subject where careless writing can mislead people or hurt communities. This policy sets out the standards every page on Canada Crime Map is written to.
Accuracy
- Every figure we publish comes from an official source or is simple arithmetic on official figures, and we say when a calculation is our own.
- We state the year the data covers (currently 2025) and the geography (metro area, police service, province or Canada) next to the numbers.
- We use the official definitions of terms such as the Crime Severity Index and crime rate, and explain them in plain language. See our methodology.
- We explain the limits of the data, including under-reporting, time lags and the difference between a metro area and a city, rather than leaving them to the small print.
Sourcing
- We use only official data: Statistics Canada and police services’ own open data and statistics pages. Every source is listed on our data sources page with its licence.
- We do not use social media posts, crowd-sourced reports, unverified news tallies or third-party “crime score” sites as data.
- We do not invent statistics, quotes, experts, surveys or case studies. If an official figure does not exist, such as neighbourhood-level statistics for most cities, we say it is not published.
- When we cite a survey about public opinion, we label it as perception, not as crime data.
- External links go to the official source so readers can check our figures themselves.
No fear-mongering
- We write in a calm, plain tone. We do not use alarmist headlines, sensational images or language designed to frighten.
- Words such as “most dangerous” or “safest” in a title describe a place’s position in official rankings compared with other Canadian places. The article always gives the actual figures and context.
- We report falls in crime as clearly as rises.
- Our safety tips are practical and proportionate. We do not sell fear to sell products.
No stigmatising
- Crime statistics describe reported incidents in a place, not the people who live there. We never link crime to ethnicity, religion, nationality, immigration, income or any other characteristic of residents.
- We do not name individual neighbourhoods as dangerous. Where a general pattern helps readers (for example, that reported crime tends to concentrate in busy downtown, nightlife, shopping and transit areas), we describe it without figures we do not have and without judgement.
- We do not publish names, exact addresses or details of individual incidents, victims or suspects.
- We treat Indigenous, Northern and rural communities, where crime figures are often higher, with particular care, and explain the context Statistics Canada provides rather than presenting numbers alone.
How we use AI tools
We use AI tools to help draft and check articles; every figure is checked against the official tables before publication. A person reviews each page for accuracy, tone and fairness, and is responsible for what we publish. AI tools are not used to generate statistics, and we do not publish AI-generated images presented as real photographs of places or events.
Independence from advertisers
- Advertisers, affiliate partners and sponsors have no say over what we write, which places we cover or how we rank them.
- Rankings are based only on official data, sorted by the method on our methodology page. No place can pay to move up or down.
- Where an article mentions our own app, Safety App Canada, we say that it is our product. Where an article contains affiliate links, we disclose them. See our advertising disclosure.
Updates
We update city guides, rankings and national pages after Statistics Canada’s annual release each July, and when figures are revised. Each article shows the date it was last updated.
Corrections
We aim to get every figure right and to fix mistakes quickly and openly.
- Anyone can report a possible error by emailing ggshop@canadacrimemap.com with the page address and, if possible, the official source.
- We check the report against the original official table.
- If we confirm an error, we correct the page promptly and update its date.
- For a significant error (a wrong figure, ranking or conclusion), we add a short correction note to the page saying what was changed and when. Minor fixes such as typos are corrected without a note.
- If the official publisher revises its figures, we update our page and, where the change is significant, say that the figures were revised.
Contact
Questions or concerns about our editorial standards can be sent to ggshop@canadacrimemap.com. Canada Crime Map is operated by GG Straps Limited, a company incorporated in Hong Kong. Read more about us.