Photo: Royalbroil · CC BY-SA 4.0Per resident, Pincher Creek records more crime than seven in ten Canadian towns
Counting crime the police covering Pincher Creek reported from 2023 to 2025, it grades C for safety: #201 of 474 in Alberta. Add to that, the yearly rates were 17.6 violent incidents and 37.5 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents, set against 12.9 and 31.2 in the typical town its size. The index that weighs each crime by its seriousness comes to 84.5 here (2023–2025 mean), and to 68.5 for the typical Canadian town its size. Police cleared 39% of incidents, weighted by seriousness, against 34% for the typical Canadian 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. Source area for crime severity, crime rate and incident counts: the Pincher Creek detachment area.
What stands out about safety in Pincher Creek
Down since 2023
Between 2023 and 2025, Pincher Creek moved from 117.3 to 59.9, while the typical Canadian town its size went from 74.3 to 64.2. Year by year ↓
Mischief: high for a town its size
Pincher Creek records 11.9 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 many towns its size
Of the 40 Canadian towns nearest it in size, Pincher Creek places 28th from the lowest index. Towns its size ↓
Lower than most of Alberta
Pincher Creek’s index of 84.5 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.
The C for Pincher Creek, and how it is built
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: #201 of 474 in Alberta and #1,775 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.
In Pincher Creek, down 49% between 2023 and 2025
Crime Severity Index
Its heaviest year came first: 2023, at 117.3, against a low of 59.9 in 2025. 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 | Pincher Creek | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 59.9 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 76.3 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 117.3 | 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 Pincher Creek, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Crime in Pincher Creek, type by type
Against the typical town its size, Pincher Creek runs highest on drug offences (1.9 per 1,000 against 0.7), mischief (11.9 per 1,000 against 4.9) and break and enter (4.4 per 1,000 against 2.8). Motor vehicle theft and theft under $5,000 sit below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0 | 0 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 1 | 0.2 | — |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 2.3 | 0.4 | — |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 1 | 0.2 | — |
| Robbery | 1.7 | 0.3 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 2 | 0.3 | — |
| Other violent violations | 0.3 | 0.05 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 28.3 | 4.4 | 17% |
| Possession of stolen property | 2.3 | 0.4 | — |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 14.7 | 2.3 | 36% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 6.3 | 1 | 5% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 73.3 | 11.4 | 19% |
| Mischief | 76.3 | 11.9 | 19% |
| Weapons violations | 3 | 0.5 | — |
| Administration of justice violations | 63 | 9.8 | 92% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 6 | 0.9 | 50% |
| Drug violations | 12 | 1.9 | 48% |
| Impaired driving | 38 | 5.9 | 32% |
| 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.
Among 40 towns its size, Pincher Creek places 28th
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mulmur Ontario | 3,813 | 24 | 17.5 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 3 | Forty Mile County No. 8 Alberta | 3,927 | 34.4 | 26.6 | A |
| … | |||||
| 25 | Colchester County, Subdivision A Nova Scotia | 3,891 | 72.9 | 100.8 | C+ |
| 26 | Penhold Alberta | 3,812 | 73.6 | 64.8 | C+ |
| 27 | Roberts Creek British Columbia | 3,779 | 76.6 | 94 | C+ |
| 28 | Pincher Creek Alberta | 3,890 | 84.5 | 85.4 | C |
| 29 | Salisbury New Brunswick | 3,806 | 86 | 92.8 | C |
| 30 | Maniwaki Quebec | 3,803 | 90.6 | 152.3 | C |
| 31 | Lake Cowichan British Columbia | 3,757 | 94.9 | 158.7 | C− |
| 32 | Lamont County Alberta | 3,918 | 95.7 | 81.2 | C− |
| … | |||||
| 34 | Fort Macleod Alberta | 3,945 | 96.7 | 83.9 | C− |
| 35 | Cardston Alberta | 3,863 | 108 | 123.7 | C− |
| … | |||||
| 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 Pincher Creek in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
About 110 violent incidents a year across the police area of 6,370 residents that includes Pincher Creek, 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 240 property crimes, plus 200 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 Pincher Creek
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pincher Creek | 3,890 | 84.5 | 85.4 | C |
| Pincher Creek No. 9 (13 km) | 3,176 | 84.5 | 85.4 | C |
| Crowsnest Pass (39 km) | 6,011 | 80.2 | 94.5 | C |
| Fort Macleod (48 km) | 3,945 | 96.7 | 83.9 | C− |
1 of the 2 neighbours with their own figures score lower than Pincher Creek. Just 39.1 km away, Crowsnest Pass comes to 80.2, against 84.5. The comparison skips one neighbour reported under the same police.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means. Distances here run 13–48 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Pincher Creek.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What 100 means. The index is scaled so that Canada as a whole scored 100 in its base year, 2006: a town at 50 has half that severity per resident.
- The clearance rate. A cleared case is one police consider solved. Whether anyone is convicted is a separate matter the rate doesn’t follow.
- Severity, weighed. 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.”
- A wider policing area. An RCMP or OPP detachment reports one set of figures for everywhere it polices, so Pincher Creek’s are shared with its surroundings.
Questions about safety in Pincher Creek
Is Pincher Creek safe?
Its police recorded 17.6 violent incidents and 37.5 property crimes a year per 1,000 residents over 2023–2025, which gives Pincher Creek a Crime Severity Index of 84.5. The middle of Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people is 68.5.
What is the most common crime in Pincher Creek?
Police record other Criminal Code offences most, 20.4 per 1,000 residents a year, ahead of mischief (11.9) and theft under $5,000 (11.4).
Is crime going up in Pincher Creek?
Over 2023–2025 the index dropped 49%, to 59.9 from 117.3.
How much of Pincher Creek’s crime do police solve?
The weighted clearance rate is 39%: 63% for violent crime and 30% for non-violent. For the typical Canadian town its size it is 34%.
Whose figures are these?
A police service or detachment that covers Pincher Creek and other places, so the figures are shared.
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).