An Estimation of the Economic Impact of Violent Victimization in Canada, 2009

Criminal Harassment

Introduction

Three crimes (as listed in police sources) are included in this section: criminal harassment (stalking), uttering threats, and threatening or harassing phone calls. Uttering threats is often considered an offence of assault, but it is included under criminal harassment in this report because there is a common aspect to all three of the crimes listed: the violent element in each of these crimes does not involve physical contact. It is reasoned that this common aspect makes the costs of uttering threats fundamentally more similar to criminal harassment than to assault.

Criminal harassment is defined in the Criminal Code (s. 264) as:

Criminal harassment is commonly referred to as “stalking”. Both terms will be used in this report. The Department of Justice Canada provides a plain language definition of this crime as behaviour that “consists of repeated conduct that is carried out over a period of time and that causes its targets to reasonably fear for their safety but does not necessarily result in physical injury. It may be a precursor to subsequent violent and/or lethal acts” (Department of Justice 2004).

Uttering threats is defined in the Criminal Code (s. 264.1) as:

Threatening or harassing phone calls is defined in the Criminal Code (s. 372) as:

Cost items in this section are estimated based on the number of criminal harassment (stalking) victims, not number of incidents. As a victim can experience multiple stalking incidents (be victimized more than one time), using victim counts instead of incident count might understate the true impacts of criminal harassment. According to the GSS, there were 493,296 female victims, 174,792 male victims, and 668,088 total victims in 2009. “Stalking” in the GSS is assumed to include all incidents of uttering threats and threatening or harassing phone calls in addition to criminal harassment; this is supported by the inclusion of “uttering threats” as a reason for contacting police about stalking in the 2004 GSS Footnote 31.

Criminal harassment is not included as a reportable crime in the Incident File of the GSS (where details are provided for individual incidents of assault, robbery, and sexual assault), but there is a question about stalking victimization in the Main File of the 2009 GSS. Unfortunately, no further details regarding the nature of the victimization are acquired in the 2009 GSS. The 2004 GSS, however, contains an entire module on stalking, much of which is useful for costing. For the most complete costing results, the 2004 GSS module on stalking is used and the data are adjusted using the 2009 GSS question on stalking.

There are no third-party costs included in this section because data are not available. Their exclusion does not mean that there are no third-party costs (e.g., social services are available to victims of criminal harassment), just that there is no information available to estimate the costs. There are also many other probable costs missing due to lack to data. Criminal harassment victims experience pain and suffering, but no sources were found to estimate the average value of this intangible cost for criminal harassment victims. Costs to employers through such negative productivity effects as tardiness and distraction are also important to consider, but as the stalking module of the 2004 GSS is not in the Incident File, there is little information on how the criminal harassment may affect the productivity of the victims.

For details on the offences included in this section and for the matching of offences across data sources, see Crime Categories and Criminal harassment.

See An Estimation of the Economic Impact of Violent Victimization in Canada, 2009: Technical Appendices (Hoddenbagh et al. 2013) for detailed technical tables with explanations of the data sources and methodology used in each cost item calculation.

Results

Table C.1 presents a comprehensive summary of the costs of victimization of adults who were criminally harassed by persons other than a spouse in 2009.

Table C.1A: Criminal harassment – summary of costs – Criminal Justice System Costs
Cost category or item Female victims Male victims Total
Criminal justice system costs
Police costs $69,834,544 $67,106,168 $136,940,712
Court costs $26,504,079 $14,982,200 $41,486,279
Prosecution costs $17,967,549 $10,156,678 $28,124,227
Legal aid costs $12,738,095 $7,200,578 $19,938,673
Corrections costs $29,487,922 $19,668,494 $49,156,416
Federal custody costs $1,929,022 $1,764,828 $3,693,850
Provincial custody costs $12,182,312 $9,391,511 $21,573,823
Conditional sentence costs $962,911 $865,444 $1,828,355
Probation costs $14,413,677 $7,646,711 $22,060,388
FinesTable note * $55,934 $48,936 $104,870
Total Criminal justice system costs $156,532,189 $119,114,118 $275,646,307
Civil justice system costs
Restraining or protective order costs $3,503,935 $423,801 $3,927,735
Total Civil justice system costs $3,503,935 $423,801 $3,927,735
Total Justice system costs $160,036,124 $119,537,918 $279,574,042
Table C.1B: Criminal harassment – summary of costs – Victim Costs
Cost category or item Female victims Male victims Total
Medical costs
Long-term health care costs $60,794,438 $12,087,013 $72,881,451
Counselling costs $60,794,438 $12,087,013 $72,881,451
Medical costs $60,794,438 $12,087,013 $72,881,451
Other costs
Stolen, damaged, or destroyed property costs $15,456,121 $8,215,244 $23,671,365
Special phone feature costs $21,725,622 $4,518,872 $26,244,493
Moving and change of address costs $52,865,435 $17,575,348 $70,440,783
Total Other costs $90,047,177 $30,309,464 $120,356,641
Total Victim costs $150,841,616 $42,396,476 $193,238,092
Table C.1C: Criminal harassment – Summary of costs
Cost category or item Female victims Male victims Total
Justice system costs $160,036,124 $119,537,918 $279,574,042
Victim costs $150,841,616 $42,396,476 $193,238,092
Total costs $310,877,739 $161,934,394 $472,812,134

C.J. Justice System Costs

C.J.1 Criminal Justice System Costs

It is necessary to calculate the police, court, prosecution, and legal aid resources spent per incident for each crime type as doing so will be able to allow for distinction of non-spousal, adult victim incidents, whereas only calculating the total resources spent on each crime would not exclude incidents involving spousal relationships and youth victims. No spousal relationships can include strangers, boyfriends/girlfriends, neighbours/friends/acquaintances/co-workers and other relatives. Special data obtained from UCR2 is able to distinguish between spousal and non spousal relationship.

The numbers of court cases, used in calculations of court, prosecution, and legal aid costs, are adjusted upwards by 5% to account for the 95% national coverage of the data sources.

C.J.1.1 Police Costs

For information on data sources and a description of the methodology used in this section, see A.J.1.1 Police Costs.

Table C.2 shows all of the pertinent police cost information, by gender.

Table C.2: Criminal harassment – severity weights and police costs
Offence Severity weight Table note A Police cost per incident Table note B Number of incidents against Table note C Police costs for incidents against
Females Males Females Males
Criminal harassment 45 $2,205 9,806 3,608 $21,618,795 $7,952,938
Uttering threats 46 $2,255 17,917 24,507 $40,394,888 $55,254,049
Threatening or harassing phone calls 17 $843 9,278 4,626 $7,820,861 $3,899,181
Total     37,001 32,741 $69,834,544 $67,106,168

The police costs for non-spousal, adult victim incidents of criminal harassment that occurred in 2009 are estimated to be $136,940,712.

Criminal harassment – justice system – criminal justice system – police
Female victims $69,834,544
Male victims $67,106,168
Total $136,940,712

C.J.1.2 Court Costs

For information on data sources and a description of the methodology used in this section, see A.J.1.2 Court Costs.

The court costs for cases that took place due to incidents of non-spousal, adult victim criminal harassment that occurred in 2009 are estimated to be $41,486,279.

Criminal harassment – justice system – criminal justice system – court
Female victims $26,504,079
Male victims $14,982,200
Total $41,486,279

C.J.1.3 Prosecution Costs

For information on data sources and a description of the methodology used in this section, see A.J.1.3 Prosecution Costs.

The prosecution costs for cases that took place due to incidents of non-spousal, adult victim criminal harassment that occurred in 2009 are estimated to be $28,124,227.

Criminal harassment – justice system – criminal justice system – prosecution
Female victims $17,967,549
Male victims $10,156,678
Total $28,124,227

C.J.1.4 Legal Aid Costs

For information on data sources and a description of the methodology used in this section, see A.J.1.4 Legal Aid Costs.

The legal aid costs for cases that took place due to incidents of non-spousal, adult victim criminal harassment that occurred in 2009 are estimated to be $19,938,673.

Criminal harassment – justice system – criminal justice system – legal aid
Female victims $12,738,095
Male victims $7,200,578
Total $19,938,673

Text Box C.1 details circumstances where legal aid provides counsel for self-represented accused provided in criminal harassment cases so that the victim does not have to face the accused, and further harassment, in cross-examination. First introduced in 1993, this provision has been amended on several occasions. In 2005/2006, the Criminal Code was amended to permit the judge or justice to appoint counsel for self-represented accused in certain situations. In the specific case of criminal harassment, the language in the Criminal Code is mandatory. This cost is included in the general legal aid expenditures data, but it cannot be separated so as to be specifically estimated for criminal harassment cases.

Text Box C.1: Legal Aid for Accused in Criminal Harassment Cases

Section 486.3 of the Criminal Code gives the court authority to appoint counsel to cross-examine the witness where the accused is self-represented and the witness is under the age of 18 years, or where the judge or justice is of the opinion that a full and candid account cannot be obtained from the witness (of any age) if the accused is allowed to personally conduct the cross-examination.

Where the accused is charged with criminal harassment, s. 486.3(4) presumes that the self-represented accused should not personally conduct the cross-examination of the victim as this could be a continuation of the harassment.

First introduced in 1993, changes to this provision came into effect with Bill C-2, An Act to Amend the Criminal Code (Protection of Children and other Vulnerable Persons), which received Royal Assent in July 2005 ( SC 2005, c. 32) and was proclaimed in two stages, November 1, 2005, and January 2, 2006). 

In many provinces, legal aid will pay the costs of defence counsel, but the costs may also be paid by the Crown Attorney. Data from provincial legal aid administrators indicates that there are about 300 cases across Canada per year where this type of legal aid is applicable, and that these cases are relatively costly to administer (approximately $1,500 per case on average). Legal aid costs have been included in that section.

C.J.1.5 Correction Costs

For information on data sources and a description of the methodology used for Table C.3 and Table C.4, see A.J.1.5 Corrections Costs.

Table C.3 shows the proportion that each sentence is given for criminal harassment crimes (calculated from the ACCS and the YCS), for all crimes and victims (i.e., no conditions).

Table C.3: Criminal harassment sentence proportions (all crimes and victims), by gender of offender
Offence Custody Conditional sentence Probation Fine Other
M F M F M F M F M F
Adult offenders
Criminal harassment 28.1% 11.6% 5.0% 5.8% 61.6% 74.5% 0.8% 0.2% 4.6% 7.9%
Uttering threats 32.9% 19.4% 3.7% 4.2% 54.1% 64.4% 3.4% 3.1% 5.9% 8.9%
Youth offenders
Criminal harassment 1.9% 7.4% 0.0% 0.0% 61.5% 76.3% 1.6% 0.0% 34.9% 16.3%
Uttering threats 14.9% 12.6% 0.1% 0.0% 60.3% 61.1% 0.8% 0.3% 23.9% 26.0%

Source 1: Statistics Canada, CCJS, ACCS – Guilty cases by most serious sentence, CANSIM 252-0057.

Source 2: Statistics Canada. CCJS, YCS – Guilty cases by most serious sentence, CANSIM 252-0068

Table C.4 shows the number of offenders estimated to have been given each sentence for committing criminal harassment crimes in 2009, for non-spousal, adult victim incidents. These figures are used as the base counts in the estimations of the costs of each sentence type.

Table C.4A: Criminal harassment sentence numbers (non-spousal crimes and adult victims) - Adult Offenders
Offence Custody Conditional sentence Probation Fine Other
Female victims - Criminal harassment 255 48 587 7 45
Female victims - Uttering threats 1,166 138 2,042 124 231
Male Victims - Criminal harassment 56 12 144 1 12
Male Victims - Uttering threats 1,369 158 2,328 144 260
Total Victims - Criminal harassment 311 59 731 8 57
Total Victims - Uttering threats 2,534 296 4,370 268 491
Table C.4B: Criminal harassment sentence numbers (non-spousal crimes and adult victims) - Youth Offenders
Offence Custody Conditional sentence Probation Fine Other
Female victims - Criminal harassment 16 0 503 13 285
Female victims - Uttering threats 493 3 2,001 25 795
Male Victims - Criminal harassment 0 0 2 0 1
Male Victims - Uttering threats 62 0 253 3 101
Total Victims - Criminal harassment 16 0 506 13 286
Total Victims - Uttering threats 555 3 2,254 28 896
C.J.1.5.1 Federal custody costs

For information on data sources and a description of the methodology used in this section, see A.J.1.5.1 Federal custody costs.

The estimated average length of federal custody sentences for criminal harassment was 1,280 days in 2009. The numbers of offenders sentenced to federal custody for criminal harassment are as follows: 7 males for violence against females, 0 females for violence against females, 6 males for violence against males, and 0 females for violence against males.

The federal custody costs due to incidents of non-spousal, adult victim criminal harassment that occurred in 2009 are estimated to be $3,693,850.

Criminal harassment – justice system – criminal justice system – corrections – federal custody
Female victims $1,929,022
Male victims $1,764,828
Total $3,693,850
C.J.1.5.2 Provincial custody costs

For information on data sources and a description of the methodology used in this section, see A.J.1.5.2 Provincial custody costs.

For criminal harassment, the average length of provincial custody sentences was 59 days for male offenders and 50 days for female offenders. The numbers of offenders sentenced to provincial custody for criminal harassment are as follows: 1,834 males for violence against females, 89 females for violence against females, 1,425 males for violence against males, and 55 females for violence against males.

The provincial custody costs due to incidents of non-spousal, adult victim criminal harassment that occurred in 2009 are estimated to be $21,573,823.

Criminal harassment – justice system – criminal justice system – corrections – provincial custody
Female victims $12,182,312
Male victims $9,391,511
Total $21,573,823
C.J.1.5.3 Conditional sentence costs

For information on data sources and a description of the methodology used in this section, see A.J.1.5.3 Conditional sentence costs.

The average conditional sentence length for “offences against the person”, which includes criminal harassment, is 210 days. Due to data limitations, the length of 210 days is used. Given the number of offenders sentenced to a conditional sentence from Table C.4 (189 for violence against female victims and 170 for violence against males), the conditional sentence costs due to incidents of non-spousal, adult victim criminal harassment that occurred in 2009 are estimated to be $1,828,355.

Criminal harassment – justice system – criminal justice system – corrections – conditional sentence
Female victims $962,911
Male victims $865,444
Total $1,828,355
C.J.1.5.4 Probation costs

For information on data sources and a description of the methodology used in this section, see A.J.1.5.4 Probation costs.

The average probation sentence length for males was 409 days and for females was 348 days. The number of offenders sentenced to probation is given in Table C.4 (4,804 males for violence against females, 329 females for violence against females, 2,522 males for violence against males, 205 females for violence against males). The probation costs due to incidents of non-spousal, adult victim criminal harassment that occurred in 2009 are estimated to be $22,060,388.

Criminal harassment – justice system – criminal justice system – corrections – probation
Female victims $14,413,677
Male victims $7,646,711
Total $22,060,388
C.J.1.5.5 Fines

For information on data sources and a description of the methodology used in this section, see A.J.1.5.5 Fines.

Costs to the offender are not included in this report (see Sources of Economic Impacts for reasons), and fines are calculated here for illustrative purposes only. These results are not included in any summations of total costs.

The average fines for criminal harassment in general are $330.

This average fine amount is then multiplied by the number of offenders receiving fines from Table C.4 (169 for violence against females, 148 for violence against males). The fine costs to offenders due to incidents of non-spousal, adult victim criminal harassment that occurred in 2009 are estimated to be $104,870.

Criminal harassment – justice system – criminal justice system – corrections – fines
Female victims $55,934
Male victims $48,936
Total $104,870

C.J.2 Civil Justice System Costs

C.J.2.1 Restraining or Protective Order Costs

This cost item is unique to criminal harassment in this report. Victims of persistent and unwanted contact by the offender can contact the police or courts to apply for a restraining or protective order that legally limits the rights of the offender with respect to the victim Footnote 32.

Data from select provinces obtained in a special data request suggest that a conservative estimate of the cost of issuing a civil restraining order is $400. The GSS finds that 8,760 female stalking victims and 1,060 male stalking victims obtained restraining orders against their stalkers through the civil system in 2009. Note that while most applicants for civil protection orders are cohabitants in a spousal relationship, the GSS data are able to distinct between spousal and non-spousal applicants for the purpose of this study.

Multiplying the cost of issuing a restraining order by the number of orders obtained, the restraining or protective order costs due to incidents of non-spousal, adult victim criminal harassment that occurred in 2009 are estimated to be $3,927,735.

Criminal harassment – justice system – civil justice system – restraining or protective order
Female victims $3,503,935
Male victims $423,801
Total $3,927,735

C.V. Victim Costs

C.V.1 Medical Costs

Due to the nature of criminal harassment, where victims are threatened but not assaulted, there are no initial health care costs such as doctor or nurse service or emergency department visits associated with this crime. Impacts on victims who were assaulted in addition to being stalked would be counted in the assault section of the report.

C.V.1.1 Long-term Health Care Costs
C.V.1.1.1 Counselling Costs

For information on data sources and a description of the methodology used in this section, see A.V.1.2.1 Counselling costs.

The GSS finds that 79,504 female victims and 15,807 male victims used counselling services in response to criminal harassment. New and Berliner (2000) find that the average number of counselling sessions for victims of “other crime categories” (which includes criminal harassment) is 9.

The counselling costs due to incidents of non-spousal, adult victim criminal harassment that occurred in 2009 are estimated to be $72,881,451.

Criminal harassment – victim – medical – long-term health care – counselling
Female victims $60,794,438
Male victims $12,087,013
Total $72,881,451

C.V.2 Other Costs

C.V.2.1 Stolen, Damaged, or Destroyed Property Costs

The GSS finds that property was damaged or pets injured for 83,389 female criminal harassment victims and 44,323 male victims by their stalkers. No data on stolen property are available, and no data regarding the average cost of property damage in criminal harassment cases are available.

Purcell et al. (2000) find in a survey that the most common types of property damage in stalking cases are damage to homes, damage to cars, and damage to properties. Considering the wide variety of possible specific damage and costs that these types of damage encompass and the lack of data on the costs of property damage in stalking cases, the average value of property damage in assault cases as found in the GSS is applied to criminal harassment cases.

The average value of property damage in assault cases was $185. Note that no information on the value of damaged property in criminal harassment incidents is found, so the average value of damaged property in assault incidents in the 2009 GSS is used as a proxy. Multiplying the appropriate measures, the stolen, damaged, or destroyed property costs of adult victims of non-spousal criminal harassment that occurred in 2009 are estimated to be $23,671,365.

Criminal harassment – victim – other – damaged or destroyed property
Female victims $15,456,121
Male victims $8,215,244
Total $23,671,365

C.V.2.2 Special Phone Feature Costs

The GSS finds that 181,047 female criminal harassment victims and 45,189 male victims purchased special phone features such as Caller Identification and an unlisted phone number due to the stalking. Assuming an average cost of $10 (based on information from Rogers) for each special phone feature and activation times of 12 months for females and 10 months for males (longer than the average duration of stalking as found in the GSS as it is assumed victims will retain special phone features for a certain period after the stalking has stopped), the special phone feature costs to adult victims of non-spousal criminal harassment that occurred in 2009 are estimated to be $26,244,493.

Criminal harassment – victim – other – special phone features
Female victims $21,725,622
Male victims $4,518,872
Total $26,244,493

C.V.2.3 Moving and Change of Address Costs

The GSS finds that 36,309 female criminal harassment victims and 12,071 male victims moved because of persistent stalking and the fear that their lives were in danger. An average moving cost of $1,000 (based on quotes for a local move, Ottawa based, with minimal requirements by various moving companies) is chosen, and other costs associated with changing residents are also taken into consideration. Victims who move into a house will face installation and transfer fees for utilities and services ranging from hydro and gas to home phone; a general fee of $25 is applied as a catch-all for such fees. Victims who move from an apartment may have to terminate a lease early or move out while still paying the lease and the penalty or cost of doing either of these is assumed to be one month’s rent ($887 on average in Ontario) Footnote 33. It is assumed that 50% of victims move from and to a house and that 50% of victims move from an apartment. The moving and change of address costs for adult victims of non-spousal criminal harassment that occurred in 2009 are estimated to be $70,440,783.

Criminal harassment – victim – other – moving and change of address
Female victims $52,865,435
Male victims $17,575,348
Total $70,440,783