Photo: Carl Young · CC BY-SA 4.0Crime per resident in High Level runs higher than in 96% of Canadian towns
On crime the police covering High Level reported from 2023 to 2025, it grades D− for safety: #468 of 474 in Alberta. Its violent half comes to 498.7 and its non-violent half to 256.9, where the norm is 85.7 and 62.8. Behind the grade sit 74.3 violent incidents and 196.0 incidents of property crime per 1,000 people a year, where the comparison is 12.9 and 31.2 in the typical town its size. Even so, in 2023 the index stood at 348.4; it fell to 290.2 in 2025.
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. Area behind the crime severity, crime rate and incident counts figures: the High Level detachment area.
What stands out about safety in High Level
Mischief: high for a town its size
High Level records 161.7 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 ↓
Higher than most of Alberta
High Level’s index of 324 compares with 110 for the typical town in Alberta. Towns its size ↓
A high clearance rate
The weighted clearance rate, the share of crime police solve, is 55% for High Level (60% violent, 51% non-violent), beside 34% for Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people. Questions ↓
A higher index than most towns its size
Of the 40 Canadian towns nearest it in size, High Level places 40th from the lowest index. 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.
What sits behind High Level’s D−
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: #468 of 474 in Alberta and #2,535 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.
Crime in High Level, type by type
Against the typical town its size, High Level runs highest on mischief (161.7 per 1,000 against 4.9), assault (51.5 per 1,000 against 6.7) and drug offences (3.4 per 1,000 against 0.7).
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0.7 | 0.10 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 6.7 | 1 | 70% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 11 | 1.6 | 100% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 9 | 1.3 | 48% |
| Robbery | 8 | 1.2 | 75% |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 2.7 | 0.4 | — |
| Other violent violations | 5.7 | 0.8 | 82% |
| Breaking and entering | 45 | 6.7 | 38% |
| Possession of stolen property | 10.7 | 1.6 | 50% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 33.3 | 4.9 | 22% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 7 | 1 | 4% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 99.3 | 14.7 | 30% |
| Mischief | 1,093.7 | 161.7 | 59% |
| Weapons violations | 16.3 | 2.4 | 78% |
| Administration of justice violations | 294.7 | 43.6 | 87% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 20.7 | 3.1 | 57% |
| Drug violations | 22.7 | 3.4 | 38% |
| Impaired driving | 63.3 | 9.4 | 62% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 1.3 | 0.2 | — |
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, High Level places 40th
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bowen Island British Columbia | 4,501 | 24.4 | 16.3 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 6 | Warner County No. 5 Alberta | 4,533 | 36.6 | 46.2 | A |
| … | |||||
| 22 | Vulcan County Alberta | 4,465 | 64.3 | 54 | B− |
| … | |||||
| 32 | Claresholm Alberta | 4,242 | 91.1 | 68.1 | C |
| … | |||||
| 37 | Bancroft Ontario | 4,331 | 121.5 | 153.2 | D |
| 38 | Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley British Columbia | 4,482 | 131.7 | 149.7 | D |
| 39 | Geraldton Ontario | 4,398 | 198.8 | 261.9 | D |
| 40 | High Level Alberta | 4,390 | 324 | 498.7 | 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 High Level in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
High Level, year by year
Crime Severity Index
Nothing since 2023 has matched that year’s 348.4; the lightest was 2025, at 290.2. The comparison line, the typical Canadian town its size, runs from 74.3 in 2023 to 64.2 by 2025.
Every year as a table
| Year | High Level | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 290.2 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 333.4 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 348.4 | 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 High Level, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Around 500 violent incidents a year in the 7,000-resident police area around High Level, 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 1,330 property crimes and 660 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 High Level
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Level | 4,390 | 324 | 498.7 | D− |
| La Crète (56 km) | 14,488 | 113.5 | 218.8 | C− |
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means. The nearest place to High Level with figures is 56 km away.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Town and surroundings together. Detachment figures cover the detachment’s whole area: High Level together with the countryside and smaller places it polices.
- Reading the number. Statistics Canada set the national index at 100 for 2006; every figure here is read against that.
- Solved cases. A crime is cleared when police lay or recommend a charge, or solve it another way; the weighted rate counts serious crimes for more.
- How serious, not how safe. 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.”
Questions about safety in High Level
Is High Level safe?
With 74.3 violent incidents and 196 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, High Level comes to 324 on the Crime Severity Index (2023–2025); Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people have a median of 68.5.
What is the most common crime in High Level?
Mischief is the most common, at 161.7 per 1,000 residents a year, then other Criminal Code offences (81.1) and assault (51.5).
Is crime going up in High Level?
It went down 17% between 2023 and 2025, from 348.4 to 290.2.
How much of High Level’s crime do police solve?
The weighted clearance rate is 55%: 60% for violent crime and 51% for non-violent. For the typical Canadian town its size it is 34%.
Whose figures are these?
A shared service or detachment’s, reported as one for High Level and everywhere else it polices.
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).