Photo: Madereugeneandrew · CC BY-SA 4.0Fewer crimes per resident are recorded in Blackfalds than in 67% of Canadian towns
Its letter for safety is B+, worked out from crime the police covering Blackfalds reported over 2023 to 2025: #16 of 474 in Alberta. For solved cases, the weighted rate is 25%, where the typical Canadian town its size manages 33%. By contrast, in 2023 the index stood at 55.6; it fell to 48.4 in 2025. Of the two halves, violence comes to 49.1 and other offences to 51.9, beside norms of 89.4 and 56.
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.
What stands out about safety in Blackfalds
Lower than most of Alberta
The typical Alberta town scores 110; Blackfalds, 50.8. Towns its size ↓
Heavier on property and other crime
Blackfalds scores 49.1 for violence and 51.9 for other crime; the typical Canadian town its size scores 89.4 and 56. By type ↓
In the middle of towns its size
Set among the 40 Canadian towns closest to it in population, Blackfalds comes 23rd, counting from the lowest Crime Severity Index. Towns its size ↓
Mischief: high for a town its size
Blackfalds records 8.2 incidents of mischief per 1,000 residents a year, against 3.7 in the typical town among Canadian towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people. By type ↓
Written from Statistics Canada’s police-reported crime by police service and detachment, 2023–2025. Figures are what police recorded, not convictions.
The B+ for Blackfalds, and how it is built
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: #16 of 474 in Alberta and #547 of 2,572 Canadian towns.
The Crime Severity Index and its two halves, beside the typical figure for Canadian towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people.
Crime in Blackfalds, type by type
Against the typical town its size, Blackfalds runs highest on mischief (8.2 per 1,000 against 3.7). Drug offences and theft under $5,000 sit below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0 | 0 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 2 | 0.2 | — |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 0.7 | 0.06 | — |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 1 | 0.08 | — |
| Robbery | 0.7 | 0.06 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 0.3 | 0.03 | — |
| Other violent violations | 3.7 | 0.3 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 26.3 | 2.2 | 10% |
| Possession of stolen property | 13 | 1.1 | 33% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 25.3 | 2.1 | 7% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 6.3 | 0.5 | 11% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 74 | 6.2 | 13% |
| Mischief | 98 | 8.2 | 23% |
| Weapons violations | 4.3 | 0.4 | — |
| Administration of justice violations | 23.3 | 2 | 48% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 9 | 0.8 | 30% |
| Drug violations | 6.3 | 0.5 | 27% |
| Impaired driving | 19 | 1.6 | 56% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 0.3 | 0.03 | — |
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 10,000 to 50,000 people.
Blackfalds, year by year
Crime Severity Index
From 55.6 in 2023, its first and heaviest year, it eased to a low of 48.4 in 2024. Over 2023–2025, the typical Canadian town its size moved from 69.5 to 60.
Every year as a table
| Year | Blackfalds | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 48.4 | 60 |
| 2024 | 48.4 | 67.9 |
| 2023 | 55.6 | 69.5 |
Statistics Canada, Crime Severity Index by police service, each year as published. Typical: the median of Canadian towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people.
The Crime Severity Index of the police covering Blackfalds, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Police in Blackfalds recorded about 150 violent incidents a year, 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 310 property crimes and 100 other violations a year (2023–2025 average). The grid is 1,000 residents, a coloured dot for each incident a year at these rates.
Among 40 towns its size, Blackfalds places 23rd
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rothesay New Brunswick | 12,626 | 20 | 27.9 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 20 | Saint-Raymond Quebec | 11,951 | 44.5 | 72 | A− |
| 21 | Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts Quebec | 12,154 | 48.8 | 71.8 | B+ |
| 22 | Mont-Tremblant Quebec | 11,879 | 48.8 | 71.8 | B+ |
| 23 | Blackfalds Alberta | 12,258 | 50.8 | 49.1 | B+ |
| 24 | Saint-Sauveur Quebec | 12,112 | 53.5 | 71.6 | B |
| 25 | Marieville Quebec | 11,910 | 55 | 88.5 | B |
| 26 | Summerland British Columbia | 12,343 | 56.2 | 38.6 | B |
| … | |||||
| 36 | Wetaskiwin County No. 10 Alberta | 12,117 | 88.9 | 60 | C |
| … | |||||
| 39 | Lac Ste. Anne County Alberta | 12,639 | 120 | 99.2 | D |
| 40 | Clearwater County Alberta | 11,856 | 188.3 | 342.3 | 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 Blackfalds in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Crime in the places around Blackfalds
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blackfalds | 12,258 | 50.8 | 49.1 | B+ |
| Lacombe County | 11,072 | 94.9 | 66.9 | C− |
| Lacombe | 14,733 | 61.7 | 47.6 | B− |
| Red Deer | 115,409 | 126.8 | 134.3 | D |
| Bentley | 1,153 | 67.3 | 43.3 | B− |
Each neighbour with its own figure comes in over Blackfalds.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What 100 means. Statistics Canada set the national index at 100 for 2006; every figure here is read against that.
- The clearance rate. Cleared means solved by police, charged or not; it says nothing about what courts decide.
- Severity, weighed. Each incident counts by its seriousness, judged from court sentences, and the total is set per resident. As Statistics Canada puts it, “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.”
Questions about safety in Blackfalds
Is Blackfalds safe?
Police-reported crime in Blackfalds scores 50.8 on Statistics Canada’s Crime Severity Index (2023–2025 mean), with 12.8 violent incidents and 25.8 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year. In the middle of Canadian towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people the figure is 66.
What is the most common crime in Blackfalds?
Top of the list is mischief (8.2 per 1,000 residents a year); theft under $5,000, at 6.2, and other Criminal Code offences, at 5.9, follow.
Is crime going up in Blackfalds?
No: the index fell 13%, from 55.6 in 2023 to 48.4 in 2025.
How much of Blackfalds’s crime do police solve?
About 25% of crime is cleared, weighted by seriousness, with 45% of violent and 18% of other crime; the figure for the typical Canadian town its size is 33%.
Whose figures are these?
Its own police: the service or contract that covers Blackfalds and nowhere else.
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).