Fact sheet: Newfoundland and Labrador

Victims of police-reported violent crime in Newfoundland and Labrador, 2023

In 2023, police services in Newfoundland and Labrador reported 8,140 victims of violent crime and traffic offences causing death or bodily harm (Table 2.1), with a rate of 1,508 victims per 100,000 population, which was higher than the national rate (1,207 per 100,000).^{Footnote 13}
Most (81%) victims were adults aged 18 and older;^{Footnote 14} 43% of all victims were aged 25 to 44 years, representing the largest proportion of any age group (Table 2.1). Meanwhile, 14% of victims were youth aged 12 to 17 years, and 5% were children aged 11 years and younger. The rate of victims was highest among youth aged 12 to 17 years (3,424 per 100,000 population), followed by adults aged 25 to 44 years (2,842 per 100,000) and young adults aged 18 to 24 years (2,465 per 100,000).^{Footnote 15}
Almost two-thirds (65%) of victims of police-reported violent crime in 2023 were victims of assault.^{Footnote 16} Assault victims accounted for two in three (66%) adult victims aged 18 years and older, and more than half (57%) of child and youth victims aged 17 years and younger.
The second most commonly reported offence was “other violent violations” which accounted for over one-quarter of victims (27%).^{Footnote 17} This category includes offences such as robbery, extortion, and uttering threats, among other violent crimes.
Overall, 7% of police-reported victims of violent crime in Newfoundland and Labrador in 2023 were victims of sexual assault. Adults aged 18 years and older accounted for the majority (64%) of sexual assault victims, with the largest number among adults aged 25 to 44 years, who accounted for 38% of all sexual assault victims. Youth aged 12 to 17 years accounted for one-quarter (25%) of sexual assault victims, and 11% were children aged 11 years and younger (Table 2.1).
The majority (63%) of victims of sexual violations against children were youth aged 12 to 17 years, and more than one-third (37%) were children aged 11 years and younger (Table 2.1).
A little more than half (54%) of police-reported victims of violent crime were female. Female victims represented substantially larger proportions of victims of sexual assault (84%) and sexual violations against children (77%) (Table 2.2).
Male victims accounted for more than three-quarters (77%) of victims of homicide, attempted murder and other violations causing death, as well as 69% of victims of traffic violations causing death or bodily harm (Table 2.2).
Male and female victims of police-reported sexual assault differed notably by age. Two-thirds (67%) of female sexual assault victims were adults aged 18 years and older, and a similar proportion (68%) of male sexual assault victims were adults.^{Footnote 18}
Compared to female victims, sexual offences were less common among male children and youth aged 17 years and younger, as 4% were victims of sexual assault and 4% were victims of sexual violations against children (17% and 12%, respectively, among female victims).^{Footnote 19} However, assault was more commonly reported among male child and youth victims (70%) than female child and youth victims (48%).

Victim services in Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador’s Department of Justice and Public Safety offers a system-based Victim Services program to assist victims of crime any time after an offence has occurred. Such services include both adult and child/youth streams of Victim Services, professional counseling services, and financial assistance for victims. Additionally, specialized services for victims of sexual assault and domestic violence are provided by community-based organizations with funding from other provincial government departments and agencies. These include Emergency Supports for Victims of Violence, services for Indigenous victims, and the Family Information Liaison Unit (FILU), which supports and assists families of missing or murdered Indigenous people.

The information provided below represents counts of files opened by the Victim Services Program as a result of referrals from police services and various other sources, as well as victims who self-refer.

In 2023, Newfoundland and Labrador’s Victim Services Program opened files for 3,499 direct victims of crime and 51 families, as well as 184 business/community victims and 16 child witnesses of crime.
Children and youth under age 16 accounted for 6% of direct victims for whom files were opened.
Over half (60%) of direct victims were female; 40% were male.
Of all the files opened by Victim Services, 80% were for violent crimes. This included 906 (24%) victims of spousal or intimate partner abuse. Around one in five (19%) files opened were for victims of a non-violent offence, including property offences. Less than 1% of files were for victims of impaired driving and other traffic offences.
In 2023, Newfoundland and Labrador’s Victim Services assisted with the completion and submission of 180 Victim Impact Statements to courts and review boards.

Detailed data tables

Table 2.1: Number and percentage of victims of police-reported violent crime and traffic violations causing death or bodily harm, by type of violation and age group, Newfoundland and Labrador, 2023

Table 2.1: Number and percentage of victims of police-reported violent crime and traffic violations causing death or bodily harm, by type of violation and age group, Newfoundland and Labrador, 2023
Type of violation	Total victims, all ages		Child and youth victims				Adult victims
	Total victims, all ages		11 years and younger		12 to 17 years		18 to 24 years		25 to 44 years		45 to 64 years		65 years and older
	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent
Homicide, other violations causing death, and attempted murder	14	100%	0	0	1	7.1%	1	7.1%	7	50.0%	3	21.4%	2	14.3%
Sexual assaults	548	100%	58	11.0%	131	24.8%	85	16.1%	199	37.6%	45	8.5%	11	2.1%
Sexual violations against children	124	100%	45	36.6%	78	63.4%	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Assaults	5,260	100%	242	4.7%	609	11.7%	649	12.5%	2,369	45.7%	1,090	21.0%	226	4.4%
Other violent violations	2,177	100%	54	2.5%	273	12.6%	262	12.1%	903	41.8%	524	24.2%	146	6.8%
Criminal Code traffic violations causing death or bodily harm	17	100%	0	0	2	11.8%	3	17.6%	5	29.4%	4	23.5%	3	17.6%
Total violent violations	8,140	100%	399	5.0%	1,094	13.6%	1,000	12.5%	3,483	43.4%	1,666	20.7%	388	4.8%
Table 2.1 footnotes Notes of table 2.1 Notes: Sexual violations against children include historical cases reported by victims as adults. Percentages were calculated by excluding victims whose age was unknown from the total number of victims in the denominator. Please use caution when interpreting findings for categories with less than 10 victims. Source of table 2.1 Source: Statistics Canada, Uniform Crime Reporting Survey.

Table 2.2: Number and percentage of victims of police-reported violent crime and traffic violations causing death or bodily harm, by type of violation and sex, Newfoundland and Labrador, 2023

Table 2.2: Number and percentage of victims of police-reported violent crime and traffic violations causing death or bodily harm, by type of violation and sex, Newfoundland and Labrador, 2023
Type of violation	Total victims		Female victims		Male victims
Type of violation	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent
Homicide, other violations causing death, and attempted murder	14	100%	3	23.1%	10	76.9%
Sexual assaults	548	100%	434	83.9%	83	16.1%
Sexual violations against children	124	100%	96	77.4%	28	22.6%
Assaults	5,260	100%	2,680	51.4%	2,535	48.6%
Other violent violations	2,177	100%	1,153	53.4%	1,007	46.6%
Criminal Code traffic violations causing death or bodily harm	17	100%	5	31.3%	11	68.8%
Total violent violations	8,140	100%	4,371	54.3%	3,674	45.7%
Table 2.2 footnotes Notes of table 2.2 Notes: Sexual violations against children include historical cases reported by victims as adults. Percentages were calculated by excluding victims whose age was unknown from the total number of victims in the denominator. Please use caution when interpreting findings for categories with less than 10 victims. Source of table 2.2 Source: Statistics Canada, Uniform Crime Reporting Survey.

Table 2.3: Number and percentage of female victims of police-reported violent crime and traffic violations causing death or bodily harm, by type of violation and age group, Newfoundland and Labrador, 2023

Table 2.3: Number and percentage of female victims of police-reported violent crime and traffic violations causing death or bodily harm, by type of violation and age group, Newfoundland and Labrador, 2023
Type of violation	Female victims, all ages		Female child and youth victims				Female adult victims
	Female victims, all ages		11 years and younger		12 to 17 years		18 to 24 years		25 to 44 years		45 to 64 years		65 years and older
	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent
Homicide, other violations causing death, and attempted murder	3	100%	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	33.3%	0	0	2	66.7%
Sexual assaults	434	100%	31	7.3%	110	26.0%	67	15.8%	166	39.2%	40	9.5%	9	2.1%
Sexual violations against children	96	100%	34	35.8%	61	64.2%	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Assaults	2,680	100%	101	3.8%	290	10.9%	377	14.2%	1,291	48.7%	493	18.6%	97	3.7%
Other violent violations	1,153	100%	26	2.3%	160	13.9%	149	13.0%	503	43.8%	250	21.8%	60	5.2%
Criminal Code traffic violations causing death or bodily harm	5	100%	0	0	0	0	1	20.0%	2	40.0%	1	20.0%	1	20.0%
Total violent violations	4,371	100%	192	4.4%	621	14.4%	594	13.7%	1,963	45.4%	784	18.1%	169	3.9%
Table 2.3 footnotes Notes of table 2.3 Notes: Sexual violations against children include historical cases reported by victims as adults. Percentages were calculated by excluding victims whose age was unknown from the total number of victims in the denominator. Please use caution when interpreting findings for categories with less than 10 victims. Source of table 2.3 Source: Statistics Canada, Uniform Crime Reporting Survey.

Table 2.4: Number and percentage of male victims of police-reported violent crime and traffic violations causing death or bodily harm, by type of violation and age group, Newfoundland and Labrador, 2023

Table 2.4: Number and percentage of male victims of police-reported violent crime and traffic violations causing death or bodily harm, by type of violation and age group, Newfoundland and Labrador, 2023
Type of violation	Male victims, all ages		Male child and youth victims				Male adult victims
	Male victims, all ages		11 years and younger		12 to 17 years		18 to 24 years		25 to 44 years		45 to 64 years		65 years and older
	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent
Homicide, other violations causing death, and attempted murder	10	100%	0	0	1	10.0%	1	10.0%	6	60.0%	2	20.0%	0	0
Sexual assaults	83	100%	7	9.0%	18	23.1%	17	21.8%	31	39.7%	3	3.8%	2	2.6%
Sexual violations against children	28	100%	11	39.3%	17	60.7%	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Assaults	2,535	100%	134	5.4%	311	12.4%	269	10.8%	1,066	42.6%	594	23.7%	128	5.1%
Other violent violations	1,007	100%	26	2.6%	109	10.9%	113	11.3%	394	39.3%	274	27.3%	86	8.6%
Criminal Code traffic violations causing death or bodily harm	11	100%	0	0	2	18.2%	2	18.2%	2	18.2%	3	27.3%	2	18.2%
Total violent violations	3,674	100%	178	4.9%	458	12.6%	402	11.1%	1,499	41.3%	876	24.1%	218	6.0%
Table 2.4 footnotes Notes of table 2.4 Notes: Sexual violations against children include historical cases reported by victims as adults. Percentages were calculated by excluding victims whose age was unknown from the total number of victims in the denominator. Please use caution when interpreting findings for categories with less than 10 victims. Source of table 2.4 Source: Statistics Canada, Uniform Crime Reporting Survey.

Footnotes

Footnote 13

Rates are from a custom tabulation of the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Survey by Statistics Canada, the Canadian Centre for Justice and Community Safety Statistics.

Return to footnote 13 referrer

Footnote 14

Calculations based on Table 2.1.

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Footnote 15

Rates are from a custom tabulation of the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Survey by Statistics Canada, the Canadian Centre for Justice and Community Safety Statistics.

Return to footnote 15 referrer

Footnote 16

Calculations based on Table 2.1.

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Footnote 17

Ibid.

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Footnote 18

Calculations based on Tables 2.3 and 2.4.

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Footnote 19