Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women:

A National Operational Overview

Contract and Aboriginal PolicingApril 2014

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• Triggers: Multiple and concurrent (Parliament, UN, TRC, NWAC, academics)

• Our Goal: To create a solid dataset for operational planning

• Methodology: (1) Work with Statistics Canada and all implicatedpolice departments; (2) conduct a file/system review; (3)compare with other data

• Limitations: Police data may under‐report victims (due toperception, etc.); some data elements were not collected overthe entire period

• Bottom line: Aboriginal women are over‐represented vis‐à‐vistheir proportion of the Canadian population

Context

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1,181

Missing and murdered Aboriginal females

By the Numbers

1,017

164

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Total unsolved Aboriginal female occurrences

225Unsolvedhomicides

Missing (unknown or foul play suspected)

105120

In 

2013,there were 

671,554Aboriginal females in 

Canada, which represented 

4%of the female population.

Represents   

16% of allmurdered females on 

record

Represents 

5.0% of allmurders on 

record

Represents 

11.3% ofall missing females on 

record

Aboriginal females are over‐represented

Murdered(1980‐2012)

All missing(CPIC)

88% 89%Aboriginal female

Non‐Aboriginal female

Homicide solve rates

60% 65%if involved in sex trade

(For all police jurisdictions in Canada)

Total Missing, as of Nov. 2013(For all police jurisdictions in Canada, according to CPIC)

Missing persons 6,420

Missingfemales1,455

Aboriginal females

164

105 59

Non‐suspiciouscircumstances

Unknown orfoul playsuspected

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Methodological Note: In this research, “missing” means those women who were recorded on CPIC as missing for more than 30 days as of Nov 4, 2013.  

Murdered: 1980‐2012

1980 2012

20,313 Total victims of 

homicide

6,551 Female victims6,551 

Female victims

16%Aboriginal

(1,017)

1%unknown

(95)

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Female homicide victims per year in Canada

270 146

83%non‐

Aboriginal(5,439)

206

Non‐Aboriginal Aboriginal

(For all police jurisdictions in Canada)

19451767

1343

285 310 325

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

1980‐1989 1990‐1999 2000‐2009

Examining homicides by decade, 

the proportional increase among 

Aboriginal femalesis clear

Since 1980: Total female homicidestrended down

Female Aboriginal homicides increased, proportionally

Canada’s overall homicide rate was comparable to other 

countries, fifth among peers

Offender to Victim relationship

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0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

Spousal Other Family Other Intimate Acquaintance Stranger Unknown

Aboriginal FemaleHomicides

Non‐Aboriginal FemaleHomicides

Homicide Offender to Victim Relationship by Category *

Rates of stranger‐perpetrated homicides 

were consistent between Aboriginals and non‐Aboriginals 

(~8%)

Methodological Note: * Acquaintance categoryincludes many types of relationships, i.e. casual,criminal, business, authority figure, neighbour, close friend.

Next steps

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• Strengthening the new dataset by:– Emphasizing NCMPUR as the repository of data on missing

persons and unidentified remains

• Increase public awareness by:– Making data public, after appropriate vetting/approvals

• Re‐focus prevention in high‐risk communities by:– Engaging local communities– Tracking performance

• Enhance efforts on outstanding cases

PHYSICAL • SEXUAL • THREATS

Don’t keep family violence a secret.

Help IS available.

SOMETIMES... HOME IS WHERE THE HURT IS.

Talk to a person you trust. Report incidents of violence to your local police.

Report it to your local Police

Report a missing person immediately.

HAVEN'T HEARD FROM HER?

D O N ' T W A I TT O A C T .

Report what you know to your local Police or Crime Stoppers.

WHEN SOMEONE IS MISSING...

every deta i li s important .

Your tip could help bring a loved one home.