Annual Police Reports
The Centre for Criminology Library holds an extensive collection of annual police reports from departments across Canada, spanning from the 1950s to the early 2000’s. The collection holds over 600 individual annual reports from 31 departments, and 10 provinces. Please note, more current annual reports are typically made available online by police departments.
Police departments publish and make public these reports with the stated intent of:
- Increasing public awareness and understanding of police activities and responsibilities
- Facilitating openness and transparency
- Releasing and providing support for the use of police information and data
- Demonstrating the importance of various stakeholder partnerships
Image Caption: Covers of the Metropolitan Toronto Police Annual Reports (1957, 1976, 1984)
Although the content and format of reports varies by department, they can include:
- Crime statistics
- Budget breakdowns
- Personnel, education, and training data
- Public complaint statistics
- Descriptions of detachment activities, responsibilities, and “outstanding” cases
- Mission, vision, and value statements
For researchers, these reports provide valuable historical data on:
- Crime statistics and trends over time
- Insight into how the police view and communicate their role and activity to community stakeholders
- Reviews from police commissioners with information on strategic plans, progress, and outcomes
For more information on the library’s collection please see the annual police report finding aid (PDF).