Photo: Bulliver · CC BY-SA 3.0Recorded crime per resident is higher in Athabasca than in 92% of Canadian towns
Its letter for safety is D, worked out from crime the police covering Athabasca reported over 2023 to 2025: #452 of 474 in Alberta. About 41% of crime here is cleared by police, set against 34% for the typical Canadian town its size. Violence accounts for an index of 138.6 and other offences for 176.9, against usual levels of 85.7 and 62.8. Police counts work out at 24.1 violent incidents and 66.9 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents annually; in the typical town its size they are 12.9 and 31.2.
Statistics Canada, police-reported crime, 2023–2025 means. The index weighs each crime by its seriousness; rates are incidents per 1,000 residents a year. Area-wide: crime severity, crime rate and incident counts, counted over the Athabasca detachment area.
What stands out about safety in Athabasca
Break and enter: high for a town its size
Athabasca records 13.7 incidents of break and enter per 1,000 residents a year, against 2.8 in the typical town among Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people. By type ↓
Down since 2023
Athabasca’s index went from 184 in 2023 to 133.6 in 2025; the typical Canadian town its size moved from 74.3 to 64.2. Year by year ↓
A higher index than most towns its size
Set among the 40 Canadian towns closest to it in population, Athabasca comes 40th, counting from the lowest Crime Severity Index. Towns its size ↓
Above Alberta’s typical town
The typical Alberta town scores 110; Athabasca, 165. Towns its size ↓
Written from Statistics Canada’s police-reported crime by police service and detachment, 2023–2025. Figures are what police recorded, not convictions.
Athabasca: D for safety, and why
The grade weighs the Crime Severity Index and its violent half, averaged over 2023–2025, against every Canadian town and city neighbourhood of 1,000 people or more.
Its place: #452 of 474 in Alberta and #2,483 of 2,572 Canadian towns.
The Crime Severity Index and its two halves, beside the typical figure for Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What police record in Athabasca, by type
Against the typical town its size, Athabasca runs highest on break and enter (13.7 per 1,000 against 2.8), mischief (19.7 per 1,000 against 4.9) and motor vehicle theft (8.9 per 1,000 against 2.6).
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0.3 | 0.04 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 2.7 | 0.3 | — |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 4 | 0.5 | — |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 5 | 0.6 | 46% |
| Robbery | 0.3 | 0.04 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 1.3 | 0.2 | — |
| Other violent violations | 2.3 | 0.3 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 119.3 | 13.7 | 17% |
| Possession of stolen property | 36.3 | 4.2 | 33% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 77.3 | 8.9 | 17% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 19 | 2.2 | 9% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 109.7 | 12.6 | 20% |
| Mischief | 171 | 19.7 | 42% |
| Weapons violations | 11.3 | 1.3 | 91% |
| Administration of justice violations | 114 | 13.1 | 90% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 33.3 | 3.8 | 35% |
| Drug violations | 9.3 | 1.1 | 40% |
| Impaired driving | 12.7 | 1.5 | 50% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 12 | 1.4 | 11% |
Statistics Canada’s violation groups for the whole police service or detachment, incidents a year its own. Cleared: incidents solved by a charge or otherwise, as a share of those reported.
Incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 means, against the typical figure for Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people.
Year by year in Athabasca: down 27%, 2023 to 2025
Crime Severity Index
Its highest year was 2023, at 184, and its lowest 2025, at 133.6. In the same years the typical Canadian town its size read 74.3 (2023), then 64.2 (2025).
Every year as a table
| Year | Athabasca | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 133.6 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 177.3 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 184 | 74.3 |
Statistics Canada, Crime Severity Index by police service, each year as published. Typical: the median of Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people.
The Crime Severity Index of the police covering Athabasca, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
By its index, Athabasca stands 40th of 40 towns its size
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Perry Ontario | 2,866 | 32.8 | 34.7 | A |
| … | |||||
| 6 | Black Diamond Alberta | 2,910 | 40.9 | 34.4 | A− |
| … | |||||
| 33 | Fairview Alberta | 2,918 | 96 | 62 | C− |
| … | |||||
| 37 | Harbour Grace Newfoundland and Labrador | 2,872 | 108 | 83.3 | C− |
| 38 | Saint-Anicet Quebec | 2,854 | 120.3 | 141 | D |
| 39 | Sicamous British Columbia | 2,854 | 145.9 | 184.8 | D |
| 40 | Athabasca Alberta | 2,887 | 165 | 138.6 | D |
The 40 Canadian towns of 2,500+ people closest in population; city neighbourhoods, city totals and reserves are left out. Towns on one police service or detachment share its index.
The Canadian towns closest to Athabasca in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
8,740 residents, about 210 violent incidents a year: the police area Athabasca belongs to, 2023–2025
Violent incidents per 1,000 a year, 2023–2025
Property crimes per 1,000 a year, 2023–2025
Statistics Canada counts actual incidents; those police record as unfounded are listed apart and kept out of its crime rates and severity index. Each incident is filed under its most serious violation, which the survey sets partly by the maximum penalty.
Add about 580 property crimes and 300 other violations a year (2023–2025 average). The grid is 1,000 residents, a coloured dot for each incident a year at these rates.
Crime in the places around Athabasca
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Athabasca | 2,887 | 165 | 138.6 | D |
| Athabasca County (14 km) | 7,280 | 165 | 138.6 | D |
| Thorhild County (62 km) | 3,147 | 167.5 | 126.8 | D |
| Westlock County (70 km) | 7,556 | 129.8 | 116.4 | D |
| Westlock (72 km) | 5,363 | 129.8 | 116.4 | D |
Of 3 places nearby with their own figures, 2 come in under Athabasca. Closest is Westlock County, 69.9 km away, at 129.8 to 165 here. A neighbour policed by the same service carries the same figure, so it isn’t set against it.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means. Distances here run 14–72 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Athabasca.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- An index, not a verdict. Statistics Canada builds the index from every crime police record, weighted by how seriously the courts treat it, and divides by the population. It adds a warning of its own: “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.”
- Shared with the countryside. Detachment figures cover the detachment’s whole area: Athabasca together with the countryside and smaller places it polices.
- The index’s scale. A reading of 100 is the whole country in 2006. Half of that, 50, means half the severity per resident.
- What clearance means. Police clear an incident by charging someone, recommending a charge, or closing it another way. The rate weighs serious crimes more, as the index does.
Questions about safety in Athabasca
Is Athabasca safe?
Its police recorded 24.1 violent incidents and 66.9 property crimes a year per 1,000 residents over 2023–2025, which gives Athabasca a Crime Severity Index of 165. The typical figure for Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people is 68.5.
What is the most common crime in Athabasca?
Police record other Criminal Code offences most, 26.2 per 1,000 residents a year, ahead of mischief (19.7) and assault (14.7).
Is crime going up in Athabasca?
It went down 27% between 2023 and 2025, from 184 to 133.6.
How much of Athabasca’s crime do police solve?
Weighted by seriousness, police cleared 41% of crime (82% of violent crime, 26% of the rest). The typical Canadian town its size clears 34%.
Whose figures are these?
A police service or detachment that covers Athabasca and other places, so the figures are shared.
Source: Statistics Canada, police-reported crime by police service and detachment, 2023–2025 (Statistics Canada Open Licence); TownRatings calculation.
Sources: Statistics Canada, Crime severity index and weighted clearance rates, police services (tables 35-10-0186 to 0190, 0061, 0063, 0064), 2023–2025 · Statistics Canada, Incident-based crime statistics by detailed violations, police services (35-10-0178 to 0185) · Safety Grade: TownRatings calculation. Under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).