Photo: Erik Lizee · Public domainRecorded crime per resident is higher in Clearwater County than in 93% of Canadian towns
Police counts work out at 32.2 violent incidents and 56.5 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents annually; in the typical town its size they are 12.0 and 30.5. What’s more, from 2023 to 2025, crime the police covering Clearwater County reported put it at D for safety: #456 of 474 in Alberta. Of the two halves, violence comes to 342.3 and other offences to 128.3, 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. Shared with the rest of the Rocky Mountain House detachment area: crime severity, crime rate and incident counts.
What stands out about safety in Clearwater County
Mischief: high for a town its size
Clearwater County records 21.5 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 ↓
Above Alberta’s typical town
Set among Alberta’s towns, whose median is 110, Clearwater County scores 188.3. Towns its size ↓
Down since 2023
Clearwater County’s index went from 208.3 in 2023 to 156.6 in 2025; the typical Canadian town its size moved from 69.5 to 60. Year by year ↓
A higher index than most towns its size
Counting up from the lowest index, Clearwater County is 39th of the 40 Canadian towns closest in population. 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.
Clearwater County: D for safety, and why
How sure: A less certain grade than most, because the figures belong to the nearest detachment, 12 km from Clearwater County, not to the town.
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: #456 of 474 in Alberta and #2,490 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.
Clearwater County’s crime by kind
Against the typical town its size, Clearwater County runs highest on mischief (21.5 per 1,000 against 3.7), motor vehicle theft (8 per 1,000 against 2.4) and break and enter (7.4 per 1,000 against 2.2). Theft under $5,000 and fraud sit below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 3.7 | 0.3 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 5.7 | 0.4 | 53% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 1.3 | 0.1 | — |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 28.3 | 2.1 | 41% |
| Robbery | 9 | 0.7 | 81% |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 1.3 | 0.10 | — |
| Other violent violations | 4 | 0.3 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 98.7 | 7.4 | 16% |
| Possession of stolen property | 48.7 | 3.6 | 19% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 107.7 | 8 | 14% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 34.7 | 2.6 | 6% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 123.7 | 9.2 | 6% |
| Mischief | 288.3 | 21.5 | 22% |
| Weapons violations | 17.3 | 1.3 | 65% |
| Administration of justice violations | 66.7 | 5 | 58% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 29.7 | 2.2 | 29% |
| Drug violations | 10 | 0.7 | 33% |
| Impaired driving | 45.3 | 3.4 | 44% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 1 | 0.08 | — |
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.
Year by year in Clearwater County: down 25%, 2023 to 2025
Crime Severity Index
Its heaviest year came first: 2023, at 208.3, against a low of 156.6 in 2025. Set beside it, the typical Canadian town its size went from 69.5 in 2023 to 60 in 2025.
Every year as a table
| Year | Clearwater County | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 156.6 | 60 |
| 2024 | 199.9 | 67.9 |
| 2023 | 208.3 | 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 Clearwater County, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Among 40 towns its size, Clearwater County places 39th
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hamilton Ontario | 11,810 | 25.7 | 30.4 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 21 | Blackfalds Alberta | 12,258 | 50.8 | 49.1 | B+ |
| … | |||||
| 26 | Banff Alberta | 11,402 | 63 | 74.8 | B− |
| … | |||||
| 33 | Wetaskiwin County No. 10 Alberta | 12,117 | 88.9 | 60 | C |
| … | |||||
| 36 | Estevan Saskatchewan | 11,391 | 103.1 | 136.2 | C− |
| 37 | Sechelt British Columbia | 11,558 | 141.3 | 114.9 | D |
| 38 | Selkirk Manitoba | 11,570 | 158 | 197.4 | D |
| 39 | Clearwater County Alberta | 11,856 | 188.3 | 342.3 | D |
| 40 | Williams Lake British Columbia | 11,462 | 248.9 | 248.6 | 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 Clearwater County in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
The detachment nearest Clearwater County, 13,300 residents: around 430 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.
Property crime adds about 760 a year and other violations 290 (2023–2025 average). Of 1,000 dots, one per resident, the coloured ones are a year’s incidents at these rates.
Crime in the places around Clearwater County
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clearwater County | 11,856 | 188.3 | 342.3 | D |
| Rocky Mountain House (14 km) | 8,144 | 140.9 | 159.2 | D |
| Eckville (28 km) | 1,088 | 67.3 | 43.3 | B− |
| Sylvan Lake (46 km) | 17,897 | 82.3 | 83.4 | C |
Every neighbour with a figure of its own has a lower index than Clearwater County. Closest is Rocky Mountain House, 14.1 km away, at 140.9 to 188.3 here.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means. The nearest places to Clearwater County with figures are 14–46 km away.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- An index, not a verdict. The Crime Severity Index adds up police-reported crime, each kind weighted by the sentences courts give it, so one robbery counts for more than many thefts. In Statistics Canada’s words, “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.”
- 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 crime is cleared when police lay or recommend a charge, or solve it another way; the weighted rate counts serious crimes for more.
Questions about safety in Clearwater County
Is Clearwater County safe?
On Statistics Canada’s figures, Clearwater County scores 188.3 on the Crime Severity Index for 2023–2025, with 32.2 violent and 56.5 property incidents per 1,000 residents a year. For Canadian towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, the typical index is 66.
What is the most common crime in Clearwater County?
The three biggest groups are mischief at 21.5, assault at 18.8 and other Criminal Code offences at 14.6, each per 1,000 residents a year.
Is crime going up in Clearwater County?
It went down 25% between 2023 and 2025, from 208.3 to 156.6.
How much of Clearwater County’s crime do police solve?
Weighted by seriousness, police cleared 35% of crime (48% of violent crime, 21% of the rest). The typical Canadian town its size clears 33%.
Whose figures are these?
A police service or detachment that covers Clearwater County 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).