Photo: Wolfmum · CC BY-SA 4.0Cold Lake sees more crime per resident than 94% of Canadian towns
Split in two, the index gives 204.7 for violence and 205.5 for everything else (normally 89.4 and 56). That puts it at D for safety, judged on crime the police covering Cold Lake reported from 2023 to 2025: #461 of 474 in Alberta. Per 1,000 residents a year, 33.2 violent incidents and 132.7 incidents of property crime were recorded, against 12.0 and 30.5 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.
What stands out about safety in Cold Lake
Mischief: high for a town its size
Cold Lake records 80.5 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
Cold Lake’s index of 204.1 compares with 110 for the typical town in Alberta. Towns its size ↓
A higher index than most towns its size
Of the 40 Canadian towns nearest it in size, Cold Lake places 40th from the lowest index. Towns its size ↓
Lighter than in 2023
Between 2023 and 2025, Cold Lake moved from 244.2 to 186.3, while the typical Canadian town its size went from 69.5 to 60. Year by year ↓
Written from Statistics Canada’s police-reported crime by police service and detachment, 2023–2025. Figures are what police recorded, not convictions.
The grade: D for Cold Lake
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: #461 of 474 in Alberta and #2,507 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.
Cold Lake’s crime by kind
Against the typical town its size, Cold Lake runs highest on mischief (80.5 per 1,000 against 3.7), break and enter (9.4 per 1,000 against 2.2) and motor vehicle theft (8.5 per 1,000 against 2.4).
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 1 | 0.06 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 9.3 | 0.5 | 51% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 13.3 | 0.8 | 98% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 7.7 | 0.4 | 74% |
| Robbery | 16 | 0.9 | 61% |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 4.3 | 0.2 | — |
| Other violent violations | 10.3 | 0.6 | 58% |
| Breaking and entering | 162.7 | 9.4 | 16% |
| Possession of stolen property | 67.3 | 3.9 | 25% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 148.7 | 8.5 | 9% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 14.7 | 0.8 | 12% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 404.7 | 23.2 | 14% |
| Mischief | 1,403 | 80.5 | 33% |
| Weapons violations | 26.3 | 1.5 | 57% |
| Administration of justice violations | 206.3 | 11.8 | 73% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 28 | 1.6 | 53% |
| Drug violations | 42.3 | 2.4 | 42% |
| Impaired driving | 69.7 | 4 | 62% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 2.3 | 0.1 | — |
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.
By its index, Cold Lake stands 40th of 40 towns its size
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oak Bay British Columbia | 18,626 | 26.7 | 23.4 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 17 | Canmore Alberta | 17,341 | 50.1 | 41.1 | B+ |
| … | |||||
| 22 | Strathmore Alberta | 16,416 | 66.8 | 78.9 | B− |
| … | |||||
| 32 | Sylvan Lake Alberta | 17,897 | 82.3 | 83.4 | C |
| … | |||||
| 34 | Brooks Alberta | 17,537 | 91.9 | 120.8 | C |
| … | |||||
| 37 | Summerside Prince Edward Island | 19,006 | 118.7 | 108.2 | C− |
| 38 | Leduc County Alberta | 16,400 | 162.1 | 88.2 | D |
| 39 | Yorkton Saskatchewan | 17,543 | 175.2 | 185.2 | D |
| 40 | Cold Lake Alberta | 17,798 | 204.1 | 204.7 | 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 Cold Lake in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
In Cold Lake, down 24% between 2023 and 2025
Crime Severity Index
The index started at its highest, 244.2 in 2023, and touched its lowest in 2024, at 181.7. For the typical Canadian town its size, 2023 gave 69.5 and 2025 gave 60.
Every year as a table
| Year | Cold Lake | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 186.3 | 60 |
| 2024 | 181.7 | 67.9 |
| 2023 | 244.2 | 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 Cold Lake, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Police in Cold Lake recorded about 580 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 2,310 a year and other violations 750 (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 Cold Lake
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cold Lake | 17,798 | 204.1 | 204.7 | D |
| Bonnyville No. 87 (32 km) | 13,265 | 197.6 | 183.7 | D |
| Bonnyville (39 km) | 7,366 | 285.4 | 211.4 | D |
| Beaver River No. 622 (61 km) | 1,442 | 436.9 | 721.7 | D− |
| Elk Point (75 km) | 1,481 | 309.8 | 440.4 | D− |
Nearby, 1 of 4 places with their own figures have a lower index than Cold Lake. Just 31.6 km away, Bonnyville No. 87 comes to 197.6, against 204.1.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means. Cold Lake has few close neighbours with figures, so the list reaches 32–75 km out.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The clearance rate. A crime is cleared when police lay or recommend a charge, or solve it another way; the weighted rate counts serious crimes for more.
- Severity, weighed. 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.”
- What 100 means. Statistics Canada set the national index at 100 for 2006; every figure here is read against that.
Questions about safety in Cold Lake
Is Cold Lake safe?
On Statistics Canada’s figures, Cold Lake scores 204.1 on the Crime Severity Index for 2023–2025, with 33.2 violent and 132.7 property incidents per 1,000 residents a year. The typical figure for Canadian towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people is 66.
What is the most common crime in Cold Lake?
Most often it is mischief: 80.5 per 1,000 residents a year. Next come other Criminal Code offences at 32.5 and theft under $5,000 at 23.2.
Is crime going up in Cold Lake?
No: the index fell 24%, from 244.2 in 2023 to 186.3 in 2025.
How much of Cold Lake’s crime do police solve?
36%, by the weighted clearance rate, where the typical Canadian town its size manages 33%. Violent crime is cleared at 60% and non-violent crime at 26%.
Whose figures are these?
They are Cold Lake’s own: its police cover the town and no other.
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).