How Prevalent Is Sexual Assault in Surrey, BC?

The prevalence of sexual assault in Surrey, BC, is a very difficult topic to write about accurately for several reasons. There are statistics published by the police, however, these statistics are always published sometime after the fact. In addition, long-term crime trends are also typically available a long time after those statistics were collected.

Another reason why it is hard to talk accurately about sexual assault is that sexual assault is estimated to be notoriously underreported, so any statistics that we examine may not be anywhere near the real numbers. Nevertheless, in today’s blog we will attempt to decipher how prevalent sexual assault is in Surrey, BC.

Overall

If we examine the most recent numbers, year-to-date sexual assaults appear to have increased from 2021 to 2022, over 10 percent. The sexual assaults between 2021 and 2020 were relatively flat at 472 recorded in 2021 and 475 recorded by the police in 2020.

Surrey

Surrey always finds itself near the top of any lists of cities in Canada with high levels of crime. However, in the most recent national survey, Kelowna has the highest crime rates. No matter what the crime rate is in a certain area, if violent crime happens to you, then it is 100 percent for you. So, this blog area does not intend to diminish the pain of any victim living in any area no matter what the statistics may say about crime.

Crime in general

Statistics right now may be skewed because of the effects of COVID-19. There have been some changes in crime patterns during periods of lockdown which may be changing again now that the general public is no longer locked down. So, we urge those looking at statistics to look at longer range patterns when they become available. That said, nationally, sexual assault in Canada was about 90 incidents per 100,000 and appears to be rising.

While only a small percentage of reported sexual assaults are prosecuted in court, if you are charged with sexual assault, please contact Gagan Nahal for a free consultation in Vancouver at (604) 527-4769. Mr. Nahal’s law practice focuses on criminal defence law, he has extensive experience in these areas of the law.

Gagan Nahal is a criminal defence lawyer based in Surrey, British Columbia, although he has represented clients across Canada. He works vigorously and tirelessly defending his clients. 

If you have any questions about this article or you would like to talk to Mr. Nahal, please call him directly at (604) 527-4769.