Photo: Ken Eckert · CC BY-SA 4.0More crimes per resident are recorded in Drumheller than in 79% of Canadian towns
Of the two halves, violence comes to 101.9 and other offences to 101.7, beside norms of 85.7 and 62.8. Across Alberta’s towns, the middle index is 110. Even so, its letter for safety is C−, worked out from crime the police covering Drumheller reported over 2023 to 2025: #224 of 474 in Alberta. Per 1,000 residents a year, 19.6 violent incidents and 36.7 incidents of property crime were recorded, against 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.
What stands out about safety in Drumheller
Drug offences: high for a town its size
Drumheller records 7.7 incidents of drug offences per 1,000 residents a year, against 0.7 in the typical town among Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people. By type ↓
Easing since 2023
From 120.9 in 2023 to 92.5 in 2025: that is Drumheller’s index, against 74.3 and 64.2 for the typical Canadian town its size. Year by year ↓
Higher than many towns its size
Counting up from the lowest index, Drumheller is 31st of the 40 Canadian towns closest in population. Towns its size ↓
The non-violent half stands out
Violent crime scores 101.9 on Drumheller’s index against 85.7 for the typical Canadian town its size; non-violent crime, 101.7 against 62.8. 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 grade: C− for Drumheller
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: #224 of 474 in Alberta and #1,936 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.
Which crimes make up Drumheller’s figures
Against the typical town its size, Drumheller runs highest on Cannabis Act offences (0.6 per 1,000 against 0.03), drug offences (7.7 per 1,000 against 0.7) and mischief (13 per 1,000 against 4.9). Theft under $5,000 and motor vehicle theft sit below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0.3 | 0.04 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 4.3 | 0.5 | — |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 3.3 | 0.4 | — |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 1.3 | 0.2 | — |
| Robbery | 0.7 | 0.08 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 1 | 0.1 | — |
| Other violent violations | 2 | 0.2 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 22.3 | 2.7 | 27% |
| Possession of stolen property | 4 | 0.5 | — |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 13 | 1.5 | 31% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 6.7 | 0.8 | 10% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 77 | 9.2 | 19% |
| Mischief | 109.3 | 13 | 20% |
| Weapons violations | 3 | 0.4 | — |
| Administration of justice violations | 67 | 8 | 84% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 10 | 1.2 | 43% |
| Drug violations | 64.7 | 7.7 | 50% |
| Impaired driving | 27.7 | 3.3 | 76% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 0.3 | 0.04 | — |
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.
From 2023 to 2025, Drumheller’s index dropped 23%
Crime Severity Index
Nothing since 2023 has matched that year’s 120.9; the lightest was 2024, at 90.1. In the same years the typical Canadian town its size read 74.3 (2023), then 64.2 (2025).
Every year as a table
| Year | Drumheller | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 92.5 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 90.1 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 120.9 | 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 Drumheller, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Among 40 towns its size, Drumheller places 31st
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Douro-Dummer Ontario | 8,379 | 14.9 | 13.8 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 27 | Innisfail Alberta | 8,736 | 83.9 | 76 | C |
| 28 | Renfrew Ontario | 8,721 | 91.6 | 165.9 | C |
| 29 | Hanover Ontario | 8,723 | 91.9 | 108.3 | C |
| 30 | Vermilion River County Alberta | 8,282 | 96.6 | 62.7 | C− |
| 31 | Drumheller Alberta | 8,439 | 101.2 | 101.9 | C− |
| 32 | Trail British Columbia | 8,539 | 114.1 | 118.2 | C− |
| 33 | Edson Alberta | 8,692 | 122.3 | 93.1 | D |
| 34 | Rocky Mountain House Alberta | 8,144 | 140.9 | 159.2 | D |
| … | |||||
| 36 | Ponoka Alberta | 8,212 | 170.5 | 210.6 | D |
| 37 | Lac la Biche County Alberta | 8,580 | 296.3 | 359.4 | D− |
| … | |||||
| 40 | Iqaluit Nunavut | 8,612 | 661.3 | 844 | 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 Drumheller in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Police in Drumheller recorded about 160 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 270 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 Drumheller
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drumheller | 8,439 | 101.2 | 101.9 | C− |
| Starland County (36 km) | 1,820 | 57.6 | 48.1 | B |
| Kneehill County (47 km) | 5,129 | 110.8 | 105.9 | C− |
| Three Hills (48 km) | 3,502 | 110.8 | 105.9 | C− |
Drumheller sits above 1 of the 3 neighbours with figures of their own. Starland County, 36 km away, is the nearest lower one, at 57.6 to 101.2.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means. Distances here run 36–48 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Drumheller.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Reading the number. Its scale starts from Canada in 2006, set at 100, so a figure above 100 means more serious crime per resident than the country had then.
- Solved cases. Weighted like the index, so solving one assault counts for more than solving a mischief; a charge laid, recommended or otherwise resolved all count.
- How serious, not how safe. 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 Drumheller
Is Drumheller safe?
Averaged over 2023–2025, the Crime Severity Index for Drumheller comes to 101.2. Per 1,000 residents a year, police logged 19.6 violent incidents and 36.7 property crimes. The middle of Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people is 68.5.
What is the most common crime in Drumheller?
Most often it is other Criminal Code offences: 17.4 per 1,000 residents a year. Next come mischief at 13 and theft under $5,000 at 9.2.
Is crime going up in Drumheller?
Over 2023–2025 the index dropped 23%, to 92.5 from 120.9.
How much of Drumheller’s crime do police solve?
42%, by the weighted clearance rate, where the typical Canadian town its size manages 34%. Violent crime is cleared at 66% and non-violent crime at 32%.
Whose figures are these?
They are Drumheller’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).