Photo: awmcphee · CC BY-SA 4.0Crime per resident in Northern Sunrise County runs higher than in 75% of Canadian towns
Both towns on its borders with figures record more crime per resident. The local count comes to 13.5 violent incidents and 41.5 incidents of property crime per 1,000 people each year, with 12.0 and 31.2 in the typical Canadian town of 2,500+. The Safety Grade comes out at C, drawn from crime the police covering Northern Sunrise County reported through 2023 to 2025. Its Crime Severity Index averaged 91.3 over 2023–2025, against 67.2 for the typical Canadian town of 2,500+.
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. Measured across the McLennan detachment area: crime severity, crime rate and incident counts.
What stands out about safety in Northern Sunrise County
Break and enter: high for a town its size
Northern Sunrise County records 7.2 incidents of break and enter per 1,000 residents a year, against 2.5 in the typical town among Canadian towns of 2,500 people or more. By type ↓
Heavier on property and other crime
Northern Sunrise County scores 73 for violence and 99.4 for other crime; the typical Canadian town of 2,500+ scores 86.4 and 62.8. By type ↓
Near the Alberta middle
The typical Alberta town scores 110; Northern Sunrise County, 91.3. 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’s behind Northern Sunrise County’s grade
How sure: Less sure than most: the grade leans on the closest detachment, 52 km from Northern Sunrise County, since none reports under the town’s name.
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.
The Crime Severity Index and its two halves, beside the typical figure for Canadian towns of 2,500 people or more.
Crime in Northern Sunrise County, type by type
Against the typical town its size, Northern Sunrise County runs highest on break and enter (7.2 per 1,000 against 2.5), mischief (10.8 per 1,000 against 4.2) and motor vehicle theft (3.8 per 1,000 against 2.4). Theft under $5,000 sits below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0 | 0 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 1.7 | 0.3 | — |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 0.7 | 0.1 | — |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 2.7 | 0.5 | — |
| Robbery | 1 | 0.2 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 0 | 0 | — |
| Other violent violations | 1 | 0.2 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 36 | 7.2 | 16% |
| Possession of stolen property | 10.3 | 2.1 | 46% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 18.7 | 3.8 | 7% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 15 | 3 | 5% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 43 | 8.7 | 10% |
| Mischief | 53.7 | 10.8 | 26% |
| Weapons violations | 1.7 | 0.3 | — |
| Administration of justice violations | 18.3 | 3.7 | 80% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 6.7 | 1.3 | 19% |
| Drug violations | 3.3 | 0.7 | — |
| Impaired driving | 5 | 1 | 60% |
| 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 people or more.
In Northern Sunrise County, up 13% between 2023 and 2025
Crime Severity Index
The middle year, 2024, was the heaviest at 100.2; 2023 was lightest, at 81.8. In the same years the typical Canadian town of 2,500+ read 70.6 (2023), then 62.9 (2025).
Every year as a table
| Year | Northern Sunrise County | Typical town of 2,500+ |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 92 | 62.9 |
| 2024 | 100.2 | 68.5 |
| 2023 | 81.8 | 70.6 |
Statistics Canada, Crime Severity Index by police service, each year as published. Typical: the median of Canadian towns of 2,500 people or more.
The Crime Severity Index of the police covering Northern Sunrise County, each year, against the typical Canadian town of 2,500+.
Around 67 violent incidents a year at the detachment nearest Northern Sunrise County (5,030 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.
And about 210 property crimes, plus 53 other violations, a year (2023–2025 average). Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot, one incident a year at the area’s rates.
Crime in the places around Northern Sunrise County
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Sunrise County | 1,848 | 91.3 | 73 | C |
| Peace River | 7,220 | 254.7 | 229 | D |
| Peace No. 135 | 1,581 | 96 | 62 | C− |
Northern Sunrise County has the lowest index of the places around it.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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. 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.”
- Reading the number. Statistics Canada set the national index at 100 for 2006; every figure here is read against that.
Questions about safety in Northern Sunrise County
Is Northern Sunrise County safe?
Northern Sunrise County scores 91.3 on Statistics Canada’s Crime Severity Index (2023–2025 mean), where the typical figure for Canadian towns of 2,500 people or more is 67.2; per 1,000 residents a year that is 13.5 violent incidents and 41.5 property crimes.
What is the most common crime in Northern Sunrise County?
Mischief is the most common, at 10.8 per 1,000 residents a year, then theft under $5,000 (8.7) and assault (7.9).
Is crime going up in Northern Sunrise County?
Up 13%: 81.8 in 2023, 92 in 2025.
How much of Northern Sunrise County’s crime do police solve?
Weighted by seriousness, police cleared 28% of crime (65% of violent crime, 17% of the rest). The typical Canadian town of 2,500+ clears 34%.
Whose figures are these?
Those of the police serving Northern Sunrise County together with its neighbours or the countryside around it.
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).