Photo: Rschuurman · Public domainBarrhead County No. 11 has more crime per resident than 69% of Canadian towns
On the record of crime the police covering Barrhead County No. 11 reported from 2023 to 2025, it takes C for safety: #196 of 474 in Alberta. Police counts work out at 14.9 violent incidents and 36.5 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents annually; in the typical town its size they are 12.9 and 31.2. The index that weighs each crime by its seriousness comes to 81.9 here (2023–2025 mean), and to 68.5 for the typical Canadian town its size.
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. Crime severity, crime rate and incident counts: one figure for all of the Barrhead detachment area.
What stands out about safety in Barrhead County No. 11
Easing since 2023
Barrhead County No. 11’s index went from 103.6 in 2023 to 69.5 in 2025; the typical Canadian town its size moved from 74.3 to 64.2. Year by year ↓
Break and enter: high for a town its size
Barrhead County No. 11 records 5.6 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 ↓
Higher than many towns its size
Of the 40 Canadian towns nearest it in size, Barrhead County No. 11 places 27th from the lowest index. Towns its size ↓
Lower than most of Alberta
Barrhead County No. 11’s index of 81.9 compares with 110 for the typical town in Alberta. 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.
The grade: C for Barrhead County No. 11
How sure: Less sure, as Barrhead County No. 11 has no detachment of its own in Statistics Canada’s tables and is graded on the closest one’s figures, 3 km away.
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: #196 of 474 in Alberta and #1,745 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.
In Barrhead County No. 11, down 33% between 2023 and 2025
Crime Severity Index
Nothing since 2023 has matched that year’s 103.6; the lightest was 2025, at 69.5. The typical Canadian town its size went from 74.3 in 2023 to 64.2 in 2025.
Every year as a table
| Year | Barrhead County No. 11 | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 69.5 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 72.7 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 103.6 | 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 Barrhead County No. 11, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Crime in Barrhead County No. 11, type by type
Against the typical town its size, Barrhead County No. 11 runs highest on break and enter (5.6 per 1,000 against 2.8), motor vehicle theft (4.4 per 1,000 against 2.6) and fraud (5.8 per 1,000 against 4.9). Theft under $5,000 sits below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0 | 0 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 3.3 | 0.3 | — |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 3 | 0.3 | — |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 1.7 | 0.1 | — |
| Robbery | 0.3 | 0.03 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 1.7 | 0.1 | — |
| Other violent violations | 3 | 0.3 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 64.7 | 5.6 | 20% |
| Possession of stolen property | 18 | 1.5 | 32% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 51 | 4.4 | 14% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 13.7 | 1.2 | 5% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 139.7 | 12 | 17% |
| Mischief | 63.7 | 5.5 | 25% |
| Weapons violations | 4.7 | 0.4 | — |
| Administration of justice violations | 58.7 | 5 | 82% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 10.3 | 0.9 | 68% |
| Drug violations | 9.3 | 0.8 | 57% |
| Impaired driving | 9.3 | 0.8 | 57% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 0 | 0 | — |
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.
Among 40 towns its size, Barrhead County No. 11 places 27th
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pointe-Calumet Quebec | 6,427 | 30.8 | 56.8 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 20 | Stettler County No. 6 Alberta | 5,966 | 61.7 | 36.4 | B− |
| … | |||||
| 24 | Bay Roberts Newfoundland and Labrador | 6,407 | 74.1 | 64.3 | C+ |
| 25 | Crowsnest Pass Alberta | 6,011 | 80.2 | 94.5 | C |
| 26 | Electoral Area C, Peace River British Columbia | 6,344 | 81.8 | 82.5 | C |
| 27 | Barrhead County No. 11 Alberta | 6,186 | 81.9 | 73.6 | C |
| 28 | Willow Creek No. 26 Alberta | 6,225 | 91.1 | 68.1 | C |
| 29 | Cumberland County, Subdivision C Nova Scotia | 6,040 | 93.1 | 86.7 | C− |
| 30 | Beaver County Alberta | 6,245 | 95.7 | 81.2 | C− |
| … | |||||
| 32 | Stettler Alberta | 6,035 | 108.4 | 89.2 | C− |
| … | |||||
| 34 | Vegreville Alberta | 6,153 | 138.4 | 107.9 | D |
| … | |||||
| 40 | St. Paul Alberta | 6,218 | 364.7 | 364.4 | 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 Barrhead County No. 11 in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Around 170 violent incidents a year at the detachment nearest Barrhead County No. 11 (11,800 residents), 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.
And about 420 property crimes, plus 140 other violations, a year (2023–2025 average). Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot, one incident a year at the area’s rates.
Crime in the places around Barrhead County No. 11
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barrhead County No. 11 | 6,186 | 81.9 | 73.6 | C |
| Barrhead (9 km) | 4,768 | 81.9 | 73.6 | C |
| Westlock County (38 km) | 7,556 | 129.8 | 116.4 | D |
| Lac Ste. Anne County (40 km) | 12,639 | 120 | 99.2 | D |
| Westlock (44 km) | 5,363 | 129.8 | 116.4 | D |
| Mayerthorpe (46 km) | 1,419 | 178 | 232.8 | D |
The places around Barrhead County No. 11 all score higher on the index. The comparison skips one neighbour reported under the same police.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means. The nearest places to Barrhead County No. 11 with figures are 9–46 km away.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The index’s scale. The index is scaled so that Canada as a whole scored 100 in its base year, 2006: a town at 50 has half that severity per resident.
- What clearance means. A cleared case is one police consider solved. Whether anyone is convicted is a separate matter the rate doesn’t follow.
- An index, not a verdict. Police-reported incidents, each multiplied by a weight drawn from court sentences, summed and divided by the population: that is the index, and its makers attach a caution, “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.”
Questions about safety in Barrhead County No. 11
Is Barrhead County No. 11 safe?
Its police recorded 14.9 violent incidents and 36.5 property crimes a year per 1,000 residents over 2023–2025, which gives Barrhead County No. 11 a Crime Severity Index of 81.9. For Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, the typical index is 68.5.
What is the most common crime in Barrhead County No. 11?
The three biggest groups are theft under $5,000 at 12, other Criminal Code offences at 9.8 and assault at 6.7, each per 1,000 residents a year.
Is crime going up in Barrhead County No. 11?
No: the index fell 33%, from 103.6 in 2023 to 69.5 in 2025.
How much of Barrhead County No. 11’s crime do police solve?
About 38% of crime is cleared, weighted by seriousness, with 74% of violent and 25% of other crime; the figure for the typical Canadian town its size is 34%.
Whose figures are these?
A shared service or detachment’s, reported as one for Barrhead County No. 11 and everywhere else it polices.
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).