Photo: Unknown author Unknown author · Public domainCardston records more crime per resident than four in five Canadian towns
Its violent half comes to 123.7 and its non-violent half to 102.7, where the norm is 85.7 and 62.8. Scored on crime the police covering Cardston reported across 2023 to 2025, the town lands on C− for safety: #226 of 474 in Alberta. On top of that, the local count comes to 24.9 violent incidents and 48.0 incidents of property crime per 1,000 people each year, with 12.9 and 31.2 in the typical 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. The crime severity, crime rate and incident counts numbers here cover the Cardston detachment area.
What stands out about safety in Cardston
Mischief: high for a town its size
Cardston records 25.4 incidents of mischief per 1,000 residents a year, against 4.9 in the typical town among Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people. By type ↓
A higher index than most towns its size
Counting up from the lowest index, Cardston is 37th of the 40 Canadian towns closest in population. Towns its size ↓
Easing since 2023
From 115.4 in 2023 to 95.1 in 2025: that is Cardston’s index, against 74.3 and 64.2 for the typical Canadian town its size. Year by year ↓
Police clear more here
Police cleared 46% of Cardston’s crime, weighted by seriousness (55% of violent crime, 41% of the rest), against 34% across Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people. Questions ↓
Written from Statistics Canada’s police-reported crime by police service and detachment, 2023–2025. Figures are what police recorded, not convictions.
The C− for Cardston, 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: #226 of 474 in Alberta and #1,996 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.
Cardston’s crime by kind
Against the typical town its size, Cardston runs highest on mischief (25.4 per 1,000 against 4.9), drug offences (2.6 per 1,000 against 0.7) and assault (13.6 per 1,000 against 6.7). Motor vehicle theft 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 | 4.3 | 0.6 | — |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 6.3 | 0.9 | 100% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 0.7 | 0.09 | — |
| Robbery | 1.7 | 0.2 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 0.7 | 0.09 | — |
| Other violent violations | 2 | 0.3 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 25 | 3.4 | 32% |
| Possession of stolen property | 5.3 | 0.7 | 32% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 14.3 | 1.9 | 33% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 3 | 0.4 | — |
| Theft under $5,000 | 74 | 10 | 28% |
| Mischief | 187.7 | 25.4 | 31% |
| Weapons violations | 6.3 | 0.9 | 79% |
| Administration of justice violations | 250 | 33.8 | 96% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 10.7 | 1.4 | 44% |
| Drug violations | 19 | 2.6 | 42% |
| Impaired driving | 25.7 | 3.5 | 65% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 0.3 | 0.05 | — |
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, Cardston places 37th
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mulmur Ontario | 3,813 | 24 | 17.5 | A+ |
| 2 | Forty Mile County No. 8 Alberta | 3,927 | 34.4 | 26.6 | A |
| … | |||||
| 25 | Penhold Alberta | 3,812 | 73.6 | 64.8 | C+ |
| … | |||||
| 29 | Pincher Creek Alberta | 3,890 | 84.5 | 85.4 | C |
| … | |||||
| 33 | Lamont County Alberta | 3,918 | 95.7 | 81.2 | C− |
| 34 | Pasadena Newfoundland and Labrador | 3,930 | 96.2 | 98.9 | C− |
| 35 | Fort Macleod Alberta | 3,945 | 96.7 | 83.9 | C− |
| 36 | Flagstaff County Alberta | 3,724 | 104.5 | 69.4 | C− |
| 37 | Cardston Alberta | 3,863 | 108 | 123.7 | C− |
| 38 | Alnwick New Brunswick | 3,767 | 124.8 | 183 | D |
| 39 | Cowichan Bay British Columbia | 3,713 | 131.7 | 149.7 | D |
| 40 | Watford Ontario | 3,955 | 333.9 | 378.3 | 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 Cardston in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
In Cardston, down 18% between 2023 and 2025
Crime Severity Index
Nothing since 2023 has matched that year’s 115.4; the lightest was 2025, at 95.1. Set beside it, the typical Canadian town its size went from 74.3 in 2023 to 64.2 in 2025.
Every year as a table
| Year | Cardston | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 95.1 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 113.6 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 115.4 | 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 Cardston, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Around 180 violent incidents a year in the 7,410-resident police area around Cardston, 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 360 property crimes and 410 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 Cardston
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cardston | 3,863 | 108 | 123.7 | C− |
| Cardston County | 4,938 | 108 | 123.7 | C− |
| Blood 148 | 4,404 | 564.3 | 822.8 | D− |
One place nearby is policed together with it and reported as one, so there is nothing to compare.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Solved cases. A cleared case is one police consider solved. Whether anyone is convicted is a separate matter the rate doesn’t follow.
- How serious, not how safe. One robbery outweighs a run of minor thefts here, since every crime counts by the sentences courts give it. Statistics Canada adds: “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.”
- Town and surroundings together. An RCMP or OPP detachment reports one set of figures for everywhere it polices, so Cardston’s are shared with its surroundings.
- Reading the number. Statistics Canada set the national index at 100 for 2006; every figure here is read against that.
Questions about safety in Cardston
Is Cardston safe?
Against a typical 68.5 for Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, Cardston’s Crime Severity Index stands at 108 for 2023–2025. Its police record 24.9 violent incidents and 48 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year.
What is the most common crime in Cardston?
Most often it is other Criminal Code offences: 47.1 per 1,000 residents a year. Next come mischief at 25.4 and assault at 13.6.
Is crime going up in Cardston?
Down 18%: 115.4 in 2023, 95.1 in 2025.
How much of Cardston’s crime do police solve?
Weighted by seriousness, police cleared 46% of crime (55% of violent crime, 41% of the rest). The typical Canadian town its size clears 34%.
Whose figures are these?
A police service or detachment that covers Cardston 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).