Statistics Canada put the police-reported Crime Severity Index for the Toronto census metropolitan area at 58.5 in 2023, against 80.5 for Canada as a whole. The index is set at 100 for Canada in 2006. Organized crime in Toronto has a documented history that reaches back to the Ontario Temperance Act of 1916, but reliable accounts come from courts, archives, and government statistics, not from lists of “gangs.”
This page sets out what official sources state, where to find current local figures, and a short, source-based overview of early organized crime in the region. It does not rank neighborhoods and does not name private individuals as offenders.
What the Crime Severity Index shows
Statistics Canada publishes the Crime Severity Index (CSI) as part of its police-reported crime statistics. The index weighs each offense by its seriousness, so a homicide counts for more than a minor theft. The base value of 100 was set for Canada in 2006, and later years are compared to it. The index covers only crime reported to police, and many crimes are never reported, so it reflects both reporting habits and actual events.
| Year | Area | Crime Severity Index | Crime rate per 100,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Toronto CMA | 54.2 | 3,471 |
| 2023 | Toronto CMA | 58.5 | 4,160 |
| 2023 | Canada | 80.5 | 5,843 |
The 2023 row comes from Table 4 of the Statistics Canada Daily release of July 25, 2024, which reports an 11 percent rise in the Toronto index and a 15 percent rise in the rate from 2022. The 2019 row comes from the Daily release of October 29, 2020. A census metropolitan area is larger than the City of Toronto, so these figures describe the region, not only the municipality. For the latest year, read the newest “Police-reported crime statistics” release on the Statistics Canada site.
Neighborhood data from the police
The Toronto Police Service runs a Public Safety Data Portal on the Toronto Police Service website. Reports about the portal describe datasets on major crime indicators, homicide, traffic, and collisions, with some statistics dating from 2004. A neighborhood crime file for 2014 to 2019 gives counts of assault, auto theft, break and enter, robbery, theft over, and homicide, and rates per 100,000 people based on the 2016 census population. The City of Toronto’s open data portal has a “Neighbourhood Crime Rates” listing, which showed as retired when checked, so the police portal is the place to look for a current version.
Searches for the “most dangerous neighborhood” or “areas to avoid” produce rankings, and the old posts on this site that made such claims have been removed. Neither Statistics Canada nor the police define such a ranking. Neighborhood rates depend on population counts, on the size of the area, and on how many people pass through it, such as visitors to a downtown district, so a high rate in a small busy area says little about the risk to residents. Readers who want local detail should open the data and read the notes that accompany each dataset.
The Toronto Police Service also publishes annual reports. These were not opened for this page, and no figures from them are quoted.
Early organized crime: Prohibition-era Ontario
The Dictionary of Canadian Biography states that the Ontario Temperance Act of 1916 created a major opportunity for organized crime in the province. Bootleggers gained experience under it before the United States adopted Prohibition in January 1920. The biography of Besha “Bessie” Starkman Perri describes a gang based in Hamilton, made up largely of Calabrians in the Hamilton and Niagara region, that expanded into a Hamilton, Kitchener, and Windsor triangle. Liquor was sold across Ontario, and boxcar loads went to New York State through Niagara and to Detroit and Chicago through Windsor.
The Toronto link in that account is personal and early. Starkman’s family settled in the Ward, a district of downtown Toronto. She married Harry Tobin in Toronto on December 15, 1907, and in 1912 the Tobins rented rooms on Chestnut Street to Rocco Perri. Around 1913 she left for St. Catharines to join him. The couple later lived in Hamilton. She was killed by shotgun blasts outside their Hamilton home on August 13, 1930. No arrests were made. The Ontario Provincial Police considered several theories, and the case remains unsolved. Perri pleaded guilty to perjury and received a six-month sentence. The biography dates the plea to 1927, while some other accounts say 1928.
This episode shows how liquor laws, cross-border markets, and immigrant communities shaped early organized crime in southern Ontario. The sources checked do not support broad claims about later groups, and none are made here.
Where to find court-documented cases
Court decisions are public. The Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII) hosts published judgments. Police news releases are another source. Anyone writing about a specific group should rely on a judgment or an official statement and should avoid naming people who were never convicted.
Frequently asked questions
Is Toronto safe?
Statistics Canada’s 2023 index for the Toronto area, 58.5, was below the national figure of 80.5, though it had risen 11 percent from the year before. Safety varies by place and circumstance, and the data cannot predict individual experience.
Where can neighborhood crime figures be found?
On the Toronto Police Service Public Safety Data Portal and the City’s open data portal. Check each dataset’s description for years covered and the population base used for rates.
What is the Crime Severity Index?
A Statistics Canada measure that weights police-reported offenses by seriousness, with Canada set at 100 in 2006.
When did organized crime start in Toronto?
Documented Prohibition-era bootlegging in Ontario followed the Ontario Temperance Act of 1916, with a Toronto connection through the early life of Bessie Starkman. Earlier or later groups are not covered by the sources checked here.
Last verified: October 2026
Sources
- Statistics Canada, The Daily, July 25, 2024, Table 4: Police-reported Crime Severity Index and crime rate, by census metropolitan area, 2023
- Statistics Canada, The Daily, October 29, 2020, Table 3, 2019 figures
- Dictionary of Canadian Biography, Besha (Bessie) Starkman (Tobin) Perri
- Toronto Police Service, Public Safety Data Portal
- City of Toronto Open Data Portal, Neighbourhood Crime Rates listing (retired when checked)
Related reading
- Pride, Prohibition, and civic life
- Toronto’s police and fire services
- Immigration and communities
- How the neighborhoods grew
- Toronto facts
Cite this page
APA: History of Toronto. (2026, October 23). Crime and Organized Crime in Toronto: Records and Data. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/the-ruthless-and-violent-gangs-of-toronto-unveiling-the-dark-underbelly-of-the-city
MLA: “Crime and Organized Crime in Toronto: Records and Data.” History of Toronto, 23 Oct. 2026, https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/the-ruthless-and-violent-gangs-of-toronto-unveiling-the-dark-underbelly-of-the-city. Accessed .
Chicago: History of Toronto. “Crime and Organized Crime in Toronto: Records and Data.” Last modified October 23, 2026. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/the-ruthless-and-violent-gangs-of-toronto-unveiling-the-dark-underbelly-of-the-city.
The pages have no named author, so the site is given as the author. Add the date you read the page if your style asks for it.