Toronto is Canada’s biggest city, and one of the most diverse on the planet, with nearly three million residents living in 630 square kilometers of urban sprawl. It’s a lot of ground to cover, and a lot of people to keep safe, but remarkably, Toronto often comes up on lists of the safest big cities in North America. This article will unpack what that means, looking at everything from crime statistics and policing organizations to the challenges facing our city, and what’s being done to address them.
Toronto’s Crime Severity Index score in 2020 was 50.6 — significantly below Canada’s national average of 75.01, according to Statistics Canada.
21 Toronto Crime Statistics and Trends for 2026
| Crime Category | 2021 (Toronto, Full-Year) | Most Recent (2025) |
| Total Major Crime Reports (MCIs) | ~37,926 total major crime indicators (approx.) — rough estimate from trend context (higher totals over last decade) | ~38,885 MCIs reported (down ~10% vs prior year in 2025) |
| Assaults | ~18,500 reported (largest category) | Still largest category (~54% of MCIs) with slight decrease vs 2024 (exact number depends on final TPS report) |
| Auto Thefts | ~6,500 vehicles stolen | ~7,044 auto thefts — lowest since about 2021, down ~25% vs 2024 |
| Break & Enter (B&E) | ~5,600 break-ins | ~5,927 break-ins — multi-year decline |
| Robbery | ~2,200 robberies | ~2,531 robberies — down ~18.7% vs 2024 |
| Theft Over $5,000 | ~1,100 incidents | Increased ~8.4% vs last year (exact 2025 figure varies) |
| Homicides (Murders) | 85 murders recorded (2021) | 38–45 murders reported in 2025 (≈ record low) |
| Shootings | ~409 shooting incidents (2021 data table) | ~91 shooting incidents (2025) — ~33% drop vs previous year |
| Gun Deaths | 46 gun-related deaths (2021) | 19 gun-related deaths (2025) — down ~56% |
| Trend Summary | Crime levels had been high for some categories like assaults and auto thefts. | Most major crime categories show reductions in 2025 vs recent years, especially violent crime and homicides. |
Where to watch Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent
| Region / Platform | Where to Watch | Notes |
| Canada | Citytv broadcast (TV) | Premiered on Citytv in 2024. |
| Citytv+ app (streaming) | Streaming episodes via the Citytv app or Citytv+ with TV provider login or subscription. | |
| Citytv+ on Prime Video Channels | Add-on subscription with a free trial for Prime members. | |
| United States | The CW (TV) | Season 1 aired on The CW starting Sept 24, 2025. Episodes likely available next-day on CW.com/app. |
| CW website / app | Free streaming of episodes after broadcast typically. | |
| International / Outside Canada | Citytv (with VPN) | If outside Canada, many viewers stream Citytv content using a VPN to get a Canadian IP. |
| CW (with VPN in some regions) | In regions where The CW is available, you can watch there once episodes begin airing in your country. | |
| Purchase Options | Apple TV digital purchase/rental | Episodes or season might be purchasable digitally (availability varies by region). |
| Prime Video digital purchase | Some listings exist on Prime Video for buying episodes/seasons (region dependent). |
Toronto Police Service (TPS) — By the Numbers
The Toronto Police Service is Canada’s largest municipal police force. It operates across multiple divisions city-wide and is overseen by the Toronto Police Services Board — a civilian governance body responsible for accountability and strategic direction.
|
TPS Metric |
Data |
| Total Police Officers | 5,017 sworn officers |
| Civilian Employees | 2,038 staff |
| City Coverage Area | 630 sq. kilometres |
| Population Served | 2.9+ million residents |
| Annual Budget (approx.) | Over $1 billion CAD |
Community policing is a stated priority for the TPS. In a city where over half the population was born outside Canada, building cross-cultural trust between officers and residents is both a practical and ethical imperative. Critics, however, point to persistent concerns about use-of-force incidents and a budget that exceeds $1 billion annually — funds some argue could be better directed toward social services.
Key Challenges to Law and Order in Toronto
Despite strong safety metrics, Toronto faces several persistent public safety challenges that data alone cannot fully capture:
- Gang-related gun violence — Concentrated in specific lower-income neighbourhoods, shootings linked to street gangs remain Toronto’s most visible and emotionally charged public safety issue.
- Racial profiling and over-policing — Documented evidence of disproportionate police contact with Black and Indigenous residents has significantly damaged community trust in some areas of the city.
- Rising auto theft — Organized crime networks are increasingly targeting high-value vehicles for export, contributing to a notable spike in motor vehicle theft across the GTA.
- Mental health crisis response — A growing share of police calls involve individuals in mental health distress, straining a force not always equipped to handle clinical situations.
- Budget and resource pressures — High inflation and constrained municipal finances limit the TPS’s ability to invest equally in enforcement, community outreach, and officer training.
Challenges vs. Safety Initiatives
Toronto has responded to its public safety landscape with both enforcement-focused and community-led strategies. The table below maps each key challenge to the city’s primary response:
|
Key Challenge |
City Response |
| Gang-related gun violence | Targeted repeat-offender patrols |
| Police-community mistrust | Community outreach & carding reform |
| Rising property & auto theft | Increased foot patrols in hotspots |
| Youth gang recruitment | Youth centres, sports leagues, mentorship |
| Mental health crisis calls | 24/7 civilian co-response teams |
Long-term safety improvements in Toronto depend on sustained investment in youth programming, affordable housing, mental health services, and genuine trust-building between police and marginalized communities — not enforcement alone.
What Toronto Is Doing to Improve Public Safety
| Initiative | Description |
| Increased Foot Patrols in High-Crime Areas | Toronto Police deploy more officers on foot in neighbourhoods with elevated crime and where people feel unsafe. This increases officer visibility, builds relationships, and helps deter opportunistic crime. |
| Youth Programs and Gang Prevention Initiatives | The city invests in youth support programs, including community youth centres, after-school activities, sports leagues, mentorship, and life-skills training — aiming to reduce youth disconnection and prevent gang involvement. |
| Focus on Repeat Offenders and Probation Oversight | Police use data analysis to identify individuals responsible for a large share of violent crime, monitor known repeat offenders, enforce probation and bail conditions, and intervene proactively where reoffending risk is high. |
Legal Aid & Community Safety Resources in Toronto
- Law and order in Toronto extends well beyond policing. A strong network of legal and community resources supports residents across the city and the broader GTA:
- Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) – Offering Ontario residents free or subsidized legal support in criminal, family, immigration, and housing issues (if you qualify based on income).
- Community Legal Clinics- Neighbourhood based not-for-profits providing free legal services including tenant issues, employment standards and human rights.
- Victim Servces Toronto-support for crime victims and their families, round-the-clock emergency crisis response, trauma counseling and court system support.
- Toronto Community Crisis Service- Provides a 24/7 civilian mental health crisis response team that can be dispatched to certain 911 calls as an alternative to police response.
- 311 Toronto – City services line for non-emergency issues including bylaw enforcement, noise complaints, neighbor safety/security concerns, community referrals.
If you need to reach the Toronto Police Service regarding a non-emergency, call (416) 808-2222 or go into your local TPS division. Always call 911 in an emergency situation.
Conclusion
Toronto is actually doing pretty well in the law and order arena – at least according to objective measures. The city’s crime severity index is consistently below the national average, and decades of community programs and investments have had an actual, tangible impact on lowering violent crime.
That said, numbers don’t tell the full story. A lot of what contributes to the overall picture, such as the amount of trust between police and community members, where crime occurs in the city, and the underlying conditions that contribute to it, are unevenly distributed, and the size and diversity of Toronto means that the issue is complex. It’s clear that public safety in a city like ours will involve more than policing: It will take affordable housing, mental health services, opportunities for young people, and an equitable justice system.
