Photo: Connorbrown22 · CC BY-SA 4.0High River sees less crime per resident than two in three Canadian towns
Against usual levels of 89.4 and 56, violent and non-violent offences here reach 56.6 and 48.5. Its Safety Grade is B+, on crime the police covering High River reported from 2023 to 2025: #16 of 474 in Alberta. By contrast, in 2023 the index stood at 48.2; it rose to 54.6 in 2025. Violence and property crime split as 11.5 violent incidents and 26.4 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents a year, beside 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 High River
Lower than most of Alberta
Set among Alberta’s towns, whose median is 110, High River scores 50.5. Towns its size ↓
Lower than many towns its size
Counting up from the lowest index, High River is 16th of the 40 Canadian towns closest in population. Towns its size ↓
Property and other crime weigh more
High River’s index splits into violent crime, 56.6 here and 89.4 for the typical Canadian town its size, and everything else, 48.5 against 56. By type ↓
Mischief: high for a town its size
High River records 8.7 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 ↓
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 River’s B+
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: #16 of 474 in Alberta and #547 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.
What police record in High River, by type
Against the typical town its size, High River runs highest on mischief (8.7 per 1,000 against 3.7) and fraud (6.2 per 1,000 against 5.1). Break and enter and motor vehicle theft sit below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0 | 0 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 3 | 0.2 | — |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 1 | 0.07 | — |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 2.3 | 0.2 | — |
| Robbery | 3.3 | 0.2 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 1.7 | 0.1 | — |
| Other violent violations | 4.3 | 0.3 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 20.7 | 1.3 | 16% |
| Possession of stolen property | 7.3 | 0.5 | 32% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 21.7 | 1.4 | 23% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 5.7 | 0.4 | 5% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 120.3 | 7.8 | 14% |
| Mischief | 134.7 | 8.7 | 18% |
| Weapons violations | 5 | 0.3 | 80% |
| Administration of justice violations | 62 | 4 | 82% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 14.3 | 0.9 | 51% |
| Drug violations | 10.7 | 0.7 | 44% |
| Impaired driving | 32.3 | 2.1 | 35% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 0 | 0 | — |
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.
High River, year by year
Crime Severity Index
Its index peaked most recently, in 2025 (54.6); 2023 was the low point, at 48.2. Over 2023–2025, the typical Canadian town its size moved from 69.5 to 60.
Every year as a table
| Year | High River | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 54.6 | 60 |
| 2024 | 48.6 | 67.9 |
| 2023 | 48.2 | 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 High River, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Around 180 violent incidents a year on High River’s police records (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.
And about 410 property crimes, plus 210 other violations, a year (2023–2025 average). Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot, one incident a year at the area’s rates.
High River is 16th of 40 towns its size, lowest index first
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dorchester Ontario | 15,475 | 28.2 | 19.4 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 13 | Bécancour Quebec | 14,943 | 46.5 | 64.3 | A− |
| 14 | Ingersoll Ontario | 14,911 | 47.7 | 60.5 | B+ |
| 15 | Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines Quebec | 15,904 | 47.9 | 61 | B+ |
| 16 | High River Alberta | 15,508 | 50.5 | 56.6 | B+ |
| 17 | Sainte-Adèle Quebec | 15,216 | 53.5 | 71.6 | B |
| 18 | Limoges Ontario | 15,122 | 53.9 | 62.3 | B |
| 19 | Mountain View County Alberta | 14,802 | 54.8 | 78.3 | B |
| … | |||||
| 23 | Lacombe Alberta | 14,733 | 61.7 | 47.6 | B− |
| … | |||||
| 25 | Strathmore Alberta | 16,416 | 66.8 | 78.9 | B− |
| … | |||||
| 36 | La Crète Alberta | 14,488 | 113.5 | 218.8 | C− |
| … | |||||
| 38 | Leduc County Alberta | 16,400 | 162.1 | 88.2 | D |
| … | |||||
| 40 | North Battleford Saskatchewan | 14,882 | 528.4 | 591.9 | 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 River in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Crime in the places around High River
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High River | 15,508 | 50.5 | 56.6 | B+ |
| Okotoks (17 km) | 33,482 | 42.5 | 48.7 | A− |
| Foothills County (23 km) | 25,789 | 39.1 | 30.5 | A |
| Nanton (27 km) | 2,522 | 63.7 | 46 | B− |
| Black Diamond (28 km) | 2,910 | 40.9 | 34.4 | A− |
Of 4 places nearby with their own figures, 3 come in under High River. The nearest of them, Okotoks (17.2 km away), scores 42.5 against 50.5.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means. High River has few close neighbours with figures, so the list reaches 17–28 km out.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Cleared, not convicted. Weighted like the index, so solving one assault counts for more than solving a mischief; a charge laid, recommended or otherwise resolved all count.
- What the index measures. Statistics Canada builds the index from every crime police record, weighted by how seriously the courts treat it, and divides by the population. It adds a warning of its own: “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.”
- 100 is Canada in 2006. 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.
Questions about safety in High River
Is High River safe?
Against a typical 66 for Canadian towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, High River’s Crime Severity Index stands at 50.5 for 2023–2025. Its police record 11.5 violent incidents and 26.4 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year.
What is the most common crime in High River?
Police record other Criminal Code offences most, 9.8 per 1,000 residents a year, ahead of mischief (8.7) and theft under $5,000 (7.8).
Is crime going up in High River?
Yes: the index rose 13%, from 48.2 in 2023 to 54.6 in 2025.
How much of High River’s crime do police solve?
35%, by the weighted clearance rate, where the typical Canadian town its size manages 33%. Violent crime is cleared at 53% and non-violent crime at 27%.
Whose figures are these?
A police service or contract that serves High River alone, so the figures are the town’s.
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).