FAQs

A crime is an act that breaks the law and is punishable upon conviction. The harm caused by the act is seen to be against society in addition to a specific person or group of people. Crime includes:

• Crimes against a person 

• Crimes against property

• Drug offences

• Arson 

• Gaming and betting

• Weapons possession

According to the World Health Organization, violence can be defined as “the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, that either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment, or deprivation.”

Violence and abuse can take many different forms, including but not limited to:

• Physical 
• Sexual 
• Emotional
• Psychological
• Verbal
• Social
• Intellectual
• Financial
• Spiritual
• Cultural
• Digital / cyber
• Neglect
• Abuse of pets
• Abuse of / using children
• Intimate partner violence
• State violence
• Colonial violence
• Etc.

No. If this is an emergency and you need a police officer, please call 911 immediately.

You can also contact the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary at:

• Telephone: 1-709-729-8000
• Deaf/Hard of Hearing TTY: 1-800-363-4334

Certain incidents may be reported online using the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary’s Online Reporting Form. 

What can be reported online:

• Lost Property
• Theft under $5000
• Theft from a Motor Vehicle
• Property Damage
• Damage to a Vehicle
• Motor vehicle accidents

The City of St. John's is in the process of facilitating a holistic, evidence-based strategy in collaboration with community to help prevent violence and crime by addressing the social determinants and risk factors. 

Through public engagement, we are interested in gathering residents’ lived experiences of violence and/or crime and perceptions of safety, as well as recommendations on best practices in the community, gaps, and new initiatives that should be considered.

The results of our public engagement will help us identify priority areas and actions for the strategy for Council’s consideration.

The City wants to facilitate a violence and crime prevention strategy and to do this, we need your help. Your experiences and feedback will help us to identify priorities to address the root causes of violence and crime. Since violence and crime affect us all, anyone who has ideas or recommendations to share is encouraged to participate.

To obtain a holistic view of the City of St. John's, we have devised a multifaceted approach. This includes conducting focus group discussions with community-based service providers working with children, youth, young adults and their families, seeking input from residents through public meetings and a residents' survey, and collecting insights from organizations working with vulnerable populations through a community engagement toolkit.

Our expectations from the public in the engagement process are twofold: first, we encourage participants to provide relevant and meaningful input that reflects your experiences, perceptions concerns and recommendations. We value your insights and urge you to share as much information as possible. Additionally, considering the jurisdiction of the City of St. John's, we specifically seek recommendations and suggestions related to municipal matters. These recommendations play a vital role in shaping the strategy that will directly impact the community. Your valuable input helps us make informed decisions for the betterment of our city. 

When engagement closes, staff will begin to summarize the information in a What We Heard document which will be available on the project page when completed. The What We Heard report will be presented to Council at a Council of the Whole meeting.

City staff and the Steering Committee will also review and consider your feedback when developing the Building Safer Communities Strategy. 

In February 2023, the City of St. Johns held a Building Safer Communities Round Table Event. The event brought together community leaders and experts with a shared vision of a safe, connected, healthy city where everyone is able to live, learn, work and play. The goal of the event was to be solutions-focused, with the intent to build upon what has been working and identify the work that needs to be done.

Based on recommendations from the Round Table, a Building Safer Communities Steering Committee was formed in the early fall of 2023. The Steering Committee is solution oriented and provides information and recommendations to the City of St. John’s on the best ways of addressing the social determinants of crime and violence. 

Building Safe Communities project staff have also completed research in several areas including:

• Violence and crime statistical trends.
• Socioeconomic and demographic data.
• Risk and protective factors.
• the social determinants of violence and crime.
• Evaluated community best practices nationally and locally.

In addition to public engagement, Steering Committee recommendations and evidence-based research findings will inform the development of the Building Safer Communities Strategy.

The most recent Statistics Canada data shows that violence and crime are on the rise in the St. John's metropolitan area. For more information, please see: Police-reported crime statistics in Canada, 2022.