P.E.I. policing numbers hit historic low, as percentage of population

As crime rates rise on Prince Edward Island, the number of police per capita in the province has fallen, and while some see that as a problem, it's unlikely the two are directly connected.

The actual number of police officers on the Island has increased, as has the number of authorized policing positions, but neither figure has kept up with population growth.

In 2017, Statistics Canada counted 222 police officers on P.E.I. with 16 positions vacant. In 2023, there were 231 officers and 22 vacant positions, a four per cent increase. In the meantime, the population grew by 16 per cent.

As a result the number of police officers per 100,000 population on the Island fell from 148.3 to 132.9.

Statistics Canada records going back to 1986 show that no province or territory has ever had a policing ratio that low. This has not escaped the notice of RCMP on the Island.

"At the moment, our numbers are low," RCMP Sgt. Shaun Coady acknowledged in an interview last month about rising crime rates.

"More police for more population is certainly valuable. It allows us to do more education, more enforcement — just have a more overall police presence, which can hopefully reduce the crime amount."

The P.E.I. government says it has been working to keep up with population growth when it comes to law enforcement.

"Since 2019, the provincial government has worked with federal and municipal partners to invest over $4.5 million into both local municipal forces and RCMP, which has resulted in over 35 new police officer positions," the Department of Justice said in an email to CBC News.

"Government will continue to work with municipalities, municipal and RCMP forces as well as all other public safety partners to ensure that communities' needs are met across P.E.I., and that public safety for residents remains a top priority."

Rising crime rates are often followed by calls for more police on the streets, but a criminologist at Wilfred Laurier University said there is little evidence that strategy works.

"The biggest myth ever sold is that the police prevent crime," Prof. Tarah Hodgkinson said in an interview. "They do respond to crime, absolutely, but they don't prevent it."

Quite a bit of research has been done by criminologists on this question, she said, but none has been able to clearly link police numbers with crime prevention.

Whatever theoretical link there might once have been between the two has grown much weaker as the nature of crime changes in the 21st century.