Data Story · Public Safety Analytics

Behind Closed Doors

A published data story on intimate partner and family violence in Toronto. The goal was to turn a serious public dataset into something clear, responsible, and impossible to shrug off.

0
total incidents recorded across 2014–2024
0
approximate incidents per day over the decade
0
involving current or former intimate partners
0
occurring inside apartments or houses
Project Dashboard

Reframing the article as a portfolio case study

Instead of a long write-up, this page keeps the story visual: what stayed flat, who was most affected, when incidents peaked, and where the concentration was strongest.

Type of Violence

Current and former intimate relationships account for 89.0% of all incidents.
51.3%Current intimate116,512 incidents
37.7%Former intimate85,525 incidents
5.9%Unknown13,442
2.9%Parent-child
1.4%Sibling
0.8%Other
familial

Annual Pattern

Verified reference points from the published article — enough to show the flatline, the COVID dip, and the rebound.
Total incidents of violence
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The decade never really broke pattern — it stayed close to 20,000 incidents per year.
0 10K 20K 2014 2016 2022 2024 20,651 21,670 peak 19,354 low 20,389
COVID-year dips cited in the article: 0.53% (2020), 2.17% (2021), 5.87% (2022) Key message: the line barely moved

Most Affected Neighbourhoods

Top six communities named in the article.
West Hill4,773 incidents
York University Hts.3,912 incidents
Glenfield-Jane Hts.3,796 incidents
Mount Olive / Silverstone3,390 incidents
Black Creek3,376 incidents
Weston3,140 incidents

Breakdown by Day of Week

Weekend reports were highest; Thursday was the weekly low.

Premises Type

The strongest location signal was residential: apartments first, houses second.
89.0%
current + former intimate relationships
37,502
Sunday incidents — the highest day of the week
59.3%
of incidents occurred in apartments alone
4,773
incidents in West Hill, the highest neighbourhood total

The main story

The article was built around persistence, not surprise. The annual count stayed stubbornly close to the same level for a decade.

Why it matters

When incidents peak on weekends and cluster in residential spaces, support services and intervention design can be more targeted.

What I contributed

Data storytelling, visual translation, article writing, and shaping the project into a published piece for The Analyst.

Original Publication

Read the full article

If you want the full editorial version, including the written narrative and policy framing, the published piece is linked below.

Read Published Article ← Back to main page