Photo: Mhalifu · CC BY-SA 3.0Peace River records more crime per resident than 95% of Canadian towns
In 2023 the index stood at 276.3; it fell to 231.7 in 2025. Its violent half comes to 229 and its non-violent half to 267.1, where the norm is 85.7 and 62.8. It grades D for safety on crime the police covering Peace River reported from 2023 to 2025: #464 of 474 in Alberta. Violence and property crime split as 40.9 violent incidents and 142.7 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents a year, beside 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 Peace River
Mischief: high for a town its size
Peace River records 77.6 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
The typical Alberta town scores 110; Peace River, 254.7. Towns its size ↓
A higher index than most towns its size
Set among the 40 Canadian towns closest to it in population, Peace River comes 37th, counting from the lowest Crime Severity Index. Towns its size ↓
The non-violent half stands out
Peace River’s index splits into violent crime, 229 here and 85.7 for the typical Canadian town its size, and everything else, 267.1 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: D for Peace River
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: #464 of 474 in Alberta and #2,522 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 Peace River, by type
Against the typical town its size, Peace River runs highest on mischief (77.6 per 1,000 against 4.9), break and enter (18.9 per 1,000 against 2.8) and assault (22 per 1,000 against 6.7).
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0.7 | 0.10 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 5 | 0.7 | 40% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 7.3 | 1 | 92% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 4.7 | 0.7 | — |
| Robbery | 2.7 | 0.4 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 2 | 0.3 | — |
| Other violent violations | 3.3 | 0.5 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 133.7 | 18.9 | 17% |
| Possession of stolen property | 25 | 3.5 | 33% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 53.7 | 7.6 | 10% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 10 | 1.4 | 20% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 168 | 23.8 | 13% |
| Mischief | 547.7 | 77.6 | 35% |
| Weapons violations | 5.7 | 0.8 | 82% |
| Administration of justice violations | 259.3 | 36.8 | 92% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 20.7 | 2.9 | 48% |
| Drug violations | 8.3 | 1.2 | 57% |
| Impaired driving | 23 | 3.3 | 99% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 0.3 | 0.05 | — |
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, Peace River stands 37th of 40 towns its size
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Trent Lakes Ontario | 7,357 | 20.6 | 24.8 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 24 | Devon Alberta | 6,965 | 76.7 | 61.5 | C+ |
| … | |||||
| 27 | Wainwright Alberta | 6,996 | 113 | 121.8 | C− |
| … | |||||
| 31 | Westlock County Alberta | 7,556 | 129.8 | 116.4 | D |
| … | |||||
| 34 | Athabasca County Alberta | 7,280 | 165 | 138.6 | D |
| 35 | Slave Lake Alberta | 7,334 | 186.1 | 153.9 | D |
| 36 | Hope British Columbia | 7,183 | 208.1 | 173 | D |
| 37 | Peace River Alberta | 7,220 | 254.7 | 229 | D |
| 38 | Merritt British Columbia | 7,190 | 270.6 | 338.1 | D |
| 39 | Bonnyville Alberta | 7,366 | 285.4 | 211.4 | D |
| 40 | Algoma, Unorganized, North Part Ontario | 7,008 | 302.3 | 509 | 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 Peace River in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Peace River, year by year
Crime Severity Index
The index started at its highest, 276.3 in 2023, and touched its lowest in 2025, at 231.7. Set beside it, the typical Canadian town its size went from 74.3 in 2023 to 64.2 in 2025.
Every year as a table
| Year | Peace River | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 231.7 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 256 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 276.3 | 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 Peace River, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Around 290 violent incidents a year on Peace 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.
Add about 1,010 property crimes and 490 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 Peace River
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peace River | 7,220 | 254.7 | 229 | D |
| Northern Sunrise County | 1,848 | 91.3 | 73 | C |
| Peace No. 135 | 1,581 | 96 | 62 | C− |
Every neighbour with a figure of its own has a lower index than Peace River. Closest is Northern Sunrise County, 9.7 km away, at 91.3 to 254.7 here.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What clearance means. The clearance rate is the share of incidents police solve, by a charge or otherwise, weighted by seriousness like the index. It isn’t a conviction rate.
- An index, not a verdict. Statistics Canada, which publishes the index, attaches a caution: “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.” The number weighs each reported crime by its seriousness before dividing by residents.
- The index’s scale. 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 Peace River
Is Peace River safe?
Police-reported crime in Peace River scores 254.7 on Statistics Canada’s Crime Severity Index (2023–2025 mean), with 40.9 violent incidents and 142.7 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year. For Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, the typical index is 68.5.
What is the most common crime in Peace River?
Police record mischief most, 77.6 per 1,000 residents a year, ahead of other Criminal Code offences (61.9) and theft under $5,000 (23.8).
Is crime going up in Peace River?
It went down 16% between 2023 and 2025, from 276.3 to 231.7.
How much of Peace River’s crime do police solve?
Police solve 56% of violent crime and 28% of everything else, 36% overall once each crime is weighted by seriousness, against 34% for the typical Canadian town its size.
Whose figures are these?
A police service or contract that serves Peace 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).