Latest data show violent crime increased in Vancouver in 2026

Quarterly Public Safety Indicators reports going to the Vancouver Police Board show police-reported violent crime in Vancouver rose six per cent in the first half of 2026 compared with the same period last year. The reports, covering the first two quarters, are the first comprehensive crime data presented to the board and public this year and arrive one month before the municipal election.

Violent crime increased in every district this year. It rose 12.3 per cent in the first quarter from the same period in 2025 and was also slightly higher than in the first quarter of 2024. The report says the 1,366 violent crimes recorded on average in the first quarter over the past five years put the 2026 total in line with that average.

Second-quarter violent crime rose 1.4 per cent year over year, with the report attributing most of the year-to-date increase to the first quarter. It says violent crime so far this year remains 2.4 per cent below the year-to-date average of the previous three years. The figures reflect only offences reported to police. Data since 2021 show third-quarter violent crime typically peaks, but 2026 third-quarter data will not reach the board until after the municipal election.

The report says crime remains a significant concern. Vancouver Police Department's 2024 Community Satisfaction Survey found that 80 per cent of respondents were concerned about crime, while the City of Vancouver's 2026 Civic Satisfaction Survey listed crime among the top five priorities for residents and businesses.

Vancouver's violent crime rate reached a 23-year low in 2025, a result Mayor Ken Sim's ABC Party is highlighting in its re-election campaign. In response to the latest figures, a party spokesperson credited investments in police, fire and mental-health services, while saying street disorder remains and is related to provincial drug and housing policies.

Statistics Canada's latest Crime Severity Index shows police-reported crime fell five per cent nationally in 2025 from 2024. The index declined in every province and territory except New Brunswick and Nunavut. Among major cities, Vancouver recorded a five-per-cent decline, compared with declines of 12.6 per cent in Toronto and 3.5 per cent in Montreal. Unlike the conventional crime rate, which measures crime volume relative to population, the Crime Severity Index gives greater weight to more serious offences.