Photo: Waynercook · Public domainCrime per resident in Red Deer runs higher than in 87% of Canadian towns
All 3 towns next door with figures record less crime per resident. Red Deer grades D for safety on crime the police covering Red Deer reported from 2023 to 2025: #435 of 474 in Alberta. Split in two, the index gives 134.3 for violence and 124.9 for everything else (normally 75.2 and 54.2). Violence and property crime split as 22.5 violent incidents and 63.6 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents a year, beside 10.8 and 25.1 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 Red Deer
Mischief: high for a town its size
Red Deer records 15.1 incidents of mischief per 1,000 residents a year, against 3.8 in the typical town among Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more. By type ↓
Down since 2023
In 2023 the index in Red Deer stood at 147.8, by 2025 at 114.4. Over the same years the typical Canadian town its size went from 64.3 to 59.2. Year by year ↓
A higher index than most towns its size
Line up the 40 Canadian towns nearest in size by their index and Red Deer stands 35th, the lowest first. Towns its size ↓
A low clearance rate
For Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more the typical clearance rate is 38%; Red Deer’s police clear 26%, 37% of violent crime and 22% of the rest. Questions ↓
Written from Statistics Canada’s police-reported crime by police service and detachment, 2023–2025. Figures are what police recorded, not convictions.
Red Deer: D for safety, and why
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: #435 of 474 in Alberta and #2,296 of 2,572 Canadian towns.
The Crime Severity Index and its two halves, beside the typical figure for Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more.
What police record in Red Deer, by type
Against the typical town its size, Red Deer runs highest on mischief (15.1 per 1,000 against 3.8), motor vehicle theft (5 per 1,000 against 1.7) and robbery (0.9 per 1,000 against 0.4).
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 1.7 | 0.02 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 51.7 | 0.5 | 57% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 38.3 | 0.3 | 95% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 20.3 | 0.2 | 31% |
| Robbery | 99.7 | 0.9 | 41% |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 12 | 0.1 | 50% |
| Other violent violations | 42.7 | 0.4 | 24% |
| Breaking and entering | 610.7 | 5.5 | 11% |
| Possession of stolen property | 186 | 1.7 | 42% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 555 | 5 | 6% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 77.7 | 0.7 | 4% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 2,966 | 26.4 | 9% |
| Mischief | 1,692.3 | 15.1 | 17% |
| Weapons violations | 170.3 | 1.5 | 60% |
| Administration of justice violations | 885.3 | 7.9 | 87% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 166.3 | 1.5 | 40% |
| Drug violations | 245.3 | 2.2 | 48% |
| Impaired driving | 342 | 3 | 70% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 4.3 | 0.04 | — |
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 50,000 people or more.
From 2023 to 2025, Red Deer’s index dropped 23%
Crime Severity Index
Its highest year was 2023, at 147.8, and its lowest 2025, at 114.4. For the typical Canadian town its size, 2023 gave 64.3 and 2025 gave 59.2.
Every year as a table
| Year | Red Deer | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 114.4 | 59.2 |
| 2024 | 118.4 | 59.9 |
| 2023 | 147.8 | 64.3 |
Statistics Canada, Crime Severity Index by police service, each year as published. Typical: the median of Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more.
The Crime Severity Index of the police covering Red Deer, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Among 40 towns its size, Red Deer places 35th
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Repentigny Quebec | 91,290 | 28.1 | 48.2 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 8 | Airdrie Alberta | 92,544 | 44.3 | 48.7 | A− |
| … | |||||
| 18 | Strathcona County Alberta | 107,345 | 68.4 | 61.3 | B− |
| … | |||||
| 32 | Thunder Bay Ontario | 117,671 | 113.6 | 209.7 | C− |
| 33 | Nanaimo British Columbia | 111,845 | 121.6 | 127.7 | D |
| 34 | Fort McMurray Alberta | 81,611 | 124.5 | 117.5 | D |
| 35 | Red Deer Alberta | 115,409 | 126.8 | 134.3 | D |
| 36 | Lethbridge Alberta | 113,671 | 128.5 | 142 | D |
| 37 | Chilliwack British Columbia | 105,520 | 142.2 | 158.4 | D |
| 38 | Kamloops British Columbia | 108,793 | 148.2 | 134.8 | D |
| … | |||||
| 40 | Prince George British Columbia | 85,944 | 209.1 | 239.6 | 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 Red Deer in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Around 2,530 violent incidents a year on Red Deer’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 7,130 property crimes, plus 3,920 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 Red Deer
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red Deer | 115,409 | 126.8 | 134.3 | D |
| Red Deer County | 22,076 | 73.6 | 64.8 | C+ |
| Blackfalds | 12,258 | 50.8 | 49.1 | B+ |
| Penhold | 3,812 | 73.6 | 64.8 | C+ |
The places around Red Deer all score lower on the index. The nearest of them, Red Deer County (11.8 km away), scores 73.6 against 126.8.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 100 is Canada in 2006. Canada’s own index has been below its 2006 base of 100 for years, so 100 marks a fixed reference, not today’s national average.
- Cleared, not convicted. 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.
- What the index measures. Police-reported incidents, each multiplied by a weight drawn from court sentences, summed and divided by the population: that is the index, and its makers attach a caution, “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.”
Questions about safety in Red Deer
Is Red Deer safe?
With 22.5 violent incidents and 63.6 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, Red Deer comes to 126.8 on the Crime Severity Index (2023–2025); Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more have a median of 60.3.
What is the most common crime in Red Deer?
Police record other Criminal Code offences most, 27.7 per 1,000 residents a year, ahead of theft under $5,000 (26.4) and mischief (15.1).
Is crime going up in Red Deer?
The reverse: 147.8 in 2023 came down to 114.4 by 2025, 23% lower.
How much of Red Deer’s crime do police solve?
The weighted clearance rate is 26%: 37% for violent crime and 22% for non-violent. For the typical Canadian town its size it is 38%.
Whose figures are these?
A police service or contract that serves Red Deer 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).