Contact / Report a Tip

Crime Canada is a Canada-wide crime trends and public-safety information site, with added focus on British Columbia and Metro Vancouver. If you have information you believe may help improve public understanding or safety, you can email us a tip. Please do not use this page to report emergencies or crimes in progress.

Emergency Situations

Important: If you're witnessing a crime in progress or facing an emergency situation, please contact emergency services immediately by dialing 911. The tip submission process described on this page is not monitored 24/7 and should not be used for urgent matters requiring immediate attention.

How to Submit Your Tip

To share information, email your tip to our dedicated inbox. Email is not monitored 24/7, and it is not a substitute for reporting to police.

Person drafting an email tip to Crime Canada

Email tips are reviewed for relevance and may be used as leads for public-source verification.

Ready to Share Information?

Send your tip by email. Include relevant details, but avoid sensitive personal information.

Submit Your Tip

What Makes an Effective Tip

The most helpful tips are specific, factual, and safe to share. Please avoid sending private or sensitive personal information.

Essential Information

  • Approximate date and time (if known)
  • City and area/neighbourhood (avoid full private home addresses unless necessary)
  • Clear description of what happened (facts you observed or can reliably describe)
  • Descriptions of people or vehicles (avoid identifying minors)
  • Links to public sources (e.g., police release, public court notice) if available

Supporting Details

  • Context that helps explain why it matters (without speculation)
  • Whether the issue appears recurring or isolated
  • Any public-facing locations or organizations involved (business names, venues, transit lines)
  • Whether there may be an immediate safety concern (and whether authorities have been contacted)
Organized notepad showing a structured list of information to include when submitting a Contact / Report a Tip

Important Reminders

  • Do not put yourself at risk to gather additional information
  • Do not include sensitive identifiers (SIN, banking details, passwords, or medical information)
  • Do not include identifying information about minors or youth justice matters
  • If a court order or publication ban may apply, avoid restricted details and report to police or counsel instead
  • If you want a reply, include an email address you are comfortable using

Privacy and Safety Notes

We aim to keep tip submissions respectful, privacy-conscious, and safe. Because tips arrive by email, please read the notes below before sending anything sensitive.

Privacy reminder illustration

Minimize personal information

You can send tips without including your name. If you want us to reply, include an email address you are comfortable using.

Email limitations

Email is not end-to-end encrypted and may contain metadata. Avoid sending sensitive identifiers or private documents.

How we may use tips

Tips may help us identify topics to verify using public sources. We may publish only verified or aggregated information, and we may not be able to respond to every message.

How Tips Are Reviewed

Crime Canada is not a law-enforcement service. Tips are treated as editorial leads that may help inform public reporting, data notes, or safety education after verification.

Simple review process illustration
  1. Send your email: Email your tip to [email protected] with the key details you can safely share.
  2. Initial review: We review messages for relevance, clarity, and obvious safety/privacy issues.
  3. Public-source verification: Where appropriate, we look for publicly available sources (e.g., official releases, court records that are public, credible reporting) before using a tip in content.
  4. Use or follow-up: If you included a safe return email, we may ask a clarifying question. We may use the information in aggregated form, or we may decide not to publish it.

Frequently Asked Questions

We've compiled answers to common questions about our tip submission process to help you better understand how it works.

Will I receive confirmation when my tip is received?

We do not automatically confirm receipt. If you request a reply and include a return email address, we may respond when possible, but we cannot guarantee a response time.

Can I submit tips about crimes that happened in the past?

Yes. Information about older incidents can be useful for context and trend understanding. If you want to make an official report, contact local police regardless of when the incident occurred.

What happens if I accidentally include my personal information?

Email submissions contain whatever you send (and may include metadata). If you believe you included something sensitive, email us again with your request (e.g., to disregard or limit use). The best approach is to avoid sending sensitive identifiers in the first place.

Is this the same as reporting to police?

No. Crime Canada is an information resource. For emergencies call 911. To report a crime officially, contact your local police service or use their non-emergency reporting options where available.

Person reviewing FAQ section about Contact / Report a Tip procedures

Send a Tip by Email

Email us the information you can safely share. We may use tips as leads for public-source verification; we may not be able to respond to every message.

Email

To: [email protected]

Subject: Tip — [Brief topic]

Body: [Approx. date/time, city/area, what happened, and why it matters]

Send Your Tip
Person preparing an email to submit a tip

Thank you for helping improve public understanding of safety issues in Canada. If you need to report an incident or require urgent help, contact local police or emergency services.