Crime in Toronto, 2018 to present
Receipt . Last reviewed 2026-05-07 . Next review 2026-06-07
“They feel less safe than they used to feel. I think the indiscriminate nature of the violence and crime that's been taking place all across Toronto, it's not just one neighbourhood, in fact, that's really alarming. It's everywhere all the time.”
Brad Bradford, City Councillor (Beaches East York), in coverage of his 2026 mayoral campaign launch, Beach Metro Community News, 2025-10-02.source.retrieved 2026-05-04
“That's how we steer young people away from violence or crime, and build long-lasting community safety.”
Olivia Chow, Mayor of Toronto, news release on expanding youth programs to create safer and stronger neighborhoods, 2026-05-01.source.retrieved 2026-05-07
The receipt
Toronto crime peaked in 2023 on most major indicators and has fallen sharply through 2024 and 2025. The data does not match the "everywhere, all the time" framing for 2025, though several categories (assault, shootings) remain elevated relative to 2018 baselines.
Exhibit 1.Auto theft trend in Toronto, 2018 to 2025
Auto theft surged from 2021 to a 2023 peak, then fell roughly 23 percent in 2024 and an additional decline in 2025. Year to date 2025 totals are roughly 43 percent below the 2023 peak.
7675 reported auto thefts in 2024
T1Toronto Police Service Public Safety Data Portal, Auto Theft dashboard (link)
Caveat.2024 and 2025 totals remain well above 2014 to 2019 levels (which sat below 4,000 per year). The decline is real, the absolute level is still elevated.
As of 2026-05-08
Exhibit 2.Homicide trend in Toronto, 2018 to 2025
2024 homicides hit an elevated 84 to 86 level. 2025 reversed that sharply, finishing at the lowest reported homicide count in roughly four decades.
85 reported homicides in 2024
T1Toronto Police Service Homicide data; corroborating Global News, "Toronto homicides on pace for record low," 2025-12 (link)
Caveat.Year-over-year homicide counts are volatile in any single city. Multi-year averages are more stable. 2024's spike shows the noise.
As of 2026-05-08
Exhibit 3.Shooting incidents in Toronto, 2023 to 2025
Shootings rose sharply from 2023 to 2024, then fell sharply in 2025. The 2025 total is below the 2023 baseline.
462 reported shooting incidents in 2024
T1Toronto Police Service Public Safety Data Portal, Shootings dashboard; corroborating CP24, "Toronto saw a rash of brazen crime in 2024," 2025-01-02 (link)
Caveat.Shooting victims (deaths plus injuries) is a separate metric from incident count and tells a slightly different story.
As of 2026-05-08
Exhibit 4.Toronto's Crime Severity Index relative to Canada
Toronto CMA's Crime Severity Index is well below the national CSI and is among the lowest of major Canadian metros. The CSI ticked down 1 percent year over year in 2024.
Toronto CMA CSI 2024: 59.4 (down 1 percent from 2023). Toronto CMA crime rate 2024: 4,177 per 100,000 (down 1 percent). Canada CSI 2024: 77.9 (down 4.1 percent).
T1Statistics Canada, "Police-reported Crime Severity Index and crime rate, by census metropolitan area, 2024," released 2025-07-22 (link)
Caveat.The CSI weights offences by severity but does not capture fear of crime, victim experience, or under-reported categories.
As of 2025-07-22
Exhibit 5.Major Crime Indicators (assault, auto theft, robbery, B&E, theft over) aggregate trend
Total MCI counts rose from 2021 to a 2024 peak, then fell in 2025. As of late December 2025, total MCIs were tracking roughly 12 percent below the 2024 full-year total.
2021: 37,926 MCIs. 2024: 51,006 MCIs (full year). 2025 (through Dec. 21): 45,146 MCIs. Mayor's office cites year-over-year category declines: shootings down 43.1 percent, auto theft down 31 percent, break-ins down 12.5 percent, robberies down 16.2 percent.
T1Toronto Police Service Major Crime Indicators dashboard; corroborating ProtectionPlus aggregation of TPS data, 2025-12-26 (link)
Caveat.MCI excludes sexual assault. Aggregate counts are sensitive to reporting practices and population growth.
As of 2025-12-21
Exhibit 6.National crime context, 2024
Statistics Canada reported a 4 percent national decline in CSI in 2024, the first decrease after three years of increases. Motor vehicle theft fell 17 percent nationally and breaking and entering fell 11 percent. Toronto's trajectory is consistent with that broader Canadian pattern, not a Toronto-specific surge.
Canada CSI 2024: 77.9, down 4.1 percent from 2023. National motor vehicle theft: down 17 percent. National B&E: down 11 percent.
T1Statistics Canada, "Police-reported crime statistics in Canada, 2024," The Daily, released 2025-07-22 (link)
Caveat.National declines do not negate the lived-experience concerns of victims or specific Toronto neighbourhoods with elevated counts.
As of 2025-07-22
What the data cannot settle
The data does not measure subjective fear of crime, neighbourhood-level erosion of trust, or the disproportionate impact of high-profile incidents (home invasions, jewellery store robberies, transit assaults) on perception. October 2025 polling showed 32 percent of Torontonians naming crime the top issue and 72 percent believing homicide had increased over the past year, even as it fell to a near 40-year low. Receipts can correct numbers. They cannot, on their own, repair perception.