Northern Lights County records more crime per resident than 85% of Canadian towns
Annual rates stand at 15.7 violent incidents and 45.3 incidents of property crime for every thousand residents, next to 12.9 and 31.2 in the typical town its size. Graded on crime the police covering Northern Lights County reported from 2023 to 2025, it scores C− for safety: #427 of 474 in Alberta. Its violent half comes to 132.1 and its non-violent half to 115.8, where the norm is 85.7 and 62.8.
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. Crime severity, crime rate and incident counts published for the Manning detachment area, not by town.
What stands out about safety in Northern Lights County
Break and enter: high for a town its size
Northern Lights County records 8.6 incidents of break and enter per 1,000 residents a year, against 2.8 in the typical town among Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people. By type ↓
Higher than many towns its size
Of the 40 Canadian towns nearest it in size, Northern Lights County places 32nd from the lowest index. Towns its size ↓
Police clear less here
For Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people the typical clearance rate is 34%; Northern Lights County’s police clear 19%, 38% of violent crime and 15% of the rest. Questions ↓
Close to Alberta’s typical town
Northern Lights County’s index of 119.8 compares with 110 for the typical town in Alberta. 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 Northern Lights County’s C−
How sure: A less certain grade than most, because the figures belong to the nearest detachment, 16 km from Northern Lights 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: #427 of 474 in Alberta and #2,227 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.
What police record in Northern Lights County, by type
Against the typical town its size, Northern Lights County runs highest on break and enter (8.6 per 1,000 against 2.8), mischief (11.8 per 1,000 against 4.9) and motor vehicle theft (4.6 per 1,000 against 2.6). Theft under $5,000 sits below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0.3 | 0.1 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 1 | 0.4 | — |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 0 | 0 | — |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 0.3 | 0.1 | — |
| Robbery | 0.3 | 0.1 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 0 | 0 | — |
| Other violent violations | 1.3 | 0.5 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 23.3 | 8.6 | 6% |
| Possession of stolen property | 4.7 | 1.7 | — |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 12.3 | 4.6 | 14% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 9.7 | 3.6 | 18% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 23.3 | 8.7 | 14% |
| Mischief | 31.7 | 11.8 | 22% |
| Weapons violations | 2.7 | 1 | — |
| Administration of justice violations | 7 | 2.6 | 57% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 5 | 1.9 | 0% |
| Drug violations | 3.3 | 1.2 | — |
| Impaired driving | 9.3 | 3.5 | 51% |
| 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 2,500 to 10,000 people.
By its index, Northern Lights County stands 32nd of 40 towns its size
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lac-Etchemin Quebec | 4,089 | 30.8 | 48.9 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 26 | Claresholm Alberta | 4,242 | 91.1 | 68.1 | C |
| … | |||||
| 29 | Electoral Area C, Okanagan-Similkameen British Columbia | 4,103 | 113.4 | 144 | C− |
| 30 | Napierville Quebec | 4,187 | 116.5 | 80.3 | C− |
| 31 | Stellarton Nova Scotia | 4,251 | 116.6 | 97.1 | C− |
| 32 | Northern Lights County Alberta | 4,115 | 119.8 | 132.1 | C− |
| 33 | Ormstown Quebec | 4,259 | 120.3 | 141 | D |
| 34 | Crossfield Alberta | 4,075 | 137 | 122.9 | D |
| 35 | Vermilion Alberta | 4,192 | 142.6 | 129.6 | D |
| 36 | Smoky Lake County Alberta | 4,043 | 255 | 152.4 | D |
| … | |||||
| 40 | Swan River Manitoba | 4,048 | 435.7 | 403.3 | 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 Northern Lights County in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Around 42 violent incidents a year at the detachment nearest Northern Lights County (2,720 residents), 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 120 a year and other violations 45 (2023–2025 average). Of 1,000 dots, one per resident, the coloured ones are a year’s incidents at these rates.
Three years of Northern Lights County’s crime index
Crime Severity Index
Its index peaked most recently, in 2025 (145.2); 2024 was the low point, at 95.9. The typical Canadian town its size went from 74.3 in 2023 to 64.2 in 2025.
Every year as a table
| Year | Northern Lights County | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 145.2 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 95.9 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 118.2 | 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 Northern Lights County, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Crime in the places around Northern Lights County
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Lights County | 4,115 | 119.8 | 132.1 | C− |
| Manning (17 km) | 1,153 | 119.8 | 132.1 | C− |
| Peace River (65 km) | 7,220 | 254.7 | 229 | D |
| Peace No. 135 (67 km) | 1,581 | 96 | 62 | C− |
| Grimshaw (70 km) | 2,799 | 96 | 62 | C− |
| Northern Sunrise County (72 km) | 1,848 | 91.3 | 73 | C |
Of 4 places nearby with their own figures, 3 come in under Northern Lights County. Peace No. 135, 67.4 km away, is the nearest lower one, at 96 to 119.8. A neighbour policed by the same service carries the same figure, so it isn’t set against it.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means. Northern Lights County has few close neighbours with figures, so the list reaches 17–72 km out.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- A small police area. With roughly 2,720 residents in its police area, a few cases swing the figures. In Statistics Canada’s words, “Data for police services or detachments with populations less than 5,000 should be used with caution.”
- 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. Police clear an incident by charging someone, recommending a charge, or closing it another way. The rate weighs serious crimes more, as the index does.
- How serious, not how safe. One robbery outweighs a run of minor thefts here, since every crime counts by the sentences courts give it. Statistics Canada adds: “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.”
Questions about safety in Northern Lights County
Is Northern Lights County safe?
Statistics Canada puts Northern Lights County at 119.8 on its Crime Severity Index over 2023–2025; Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people sit at 68.5 in the middle. Violent incidents run at 15.7 and property crimes at 45.3 per 1,000 residents a year.
What is the most common crime in Northern Lights County?
Mischief is the most common, at 11.8 per 1,000 residents a year, then other Criminal Code offences (9.7) and theft under $5,000 (8.7).
Is crime going up in Northern Lights County?
Yes: the index rose 23%, from 118.2 in 2023 to 145.2 in 2025. The police area is small or partly reported, so treat the change with care.
How much of Northern Lights County’s crime do police solve?
Weighted by seriousness, police cleared 19% of crime (38% of violent crime, 15% of the rest). The typical Canadian town its size clears 34%.
Whose figures are these?
A shared service or detachment’s, reported as one for Northern Lights County 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).