Photo: Kevlar67 · Public domainSmoky Lake County has more crime per resident than 95% of Canadian towns
The grade is D, built on crime the police covering Smoky Lake County reported from 2023 to 2025: #464 of 474 in Alberta. About 21% of crime here is cleared by police, set against 34% for the typical Canadian town its size. Split in two, the index gives 152.4 for violence and 298.2 for everything else (normally 85.7 and 62.8). Annual rates stand at 26.3 violent incidents and 103.0 incidents of property crime for every thousand residents, next to 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. Area behind the crime severity, crime rate and incident counts figures: the Smoky Lake detachment area.
What stands out about safety in Smoky Lake County
Break and enter: high for a town its size
Smoky Lake County records 31.1 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 ↓
The non-violent half stands out
Violent crime scores 152.4 on Smoky Lake County’s index against 85.7 for the typical Canadian town its size; non-violent crime, 298.2 against 62.8. By type ↓
Above Alberta’s typical town
Set among Alberta’s towns, whose median is 110, Smoky Lake County scores 255. Towns its size ↓
A higher index than most towns its size
Counting up from the lowest index, Smoky Lake County is 36th of the 40 Canadian towns closest in population. 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.
Inside Smoky Lake County’s D for safety
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.
Which crimes make up Smoky Lake County’s figures
Against the typical town its size, Smoky Lake County runs highest on break and enter (31.1 per 1,000 against 2.8), motor vehicle theft (17.2 per 1,000 against 2.6) and mischief (21 per 1,000 against 4.9).
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0 | 0 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 1.3 | 0.3 | — |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 0.7 | 0.2 | — |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 3.7 | 0.8 | — |
| Robbery | 2 | 0.5 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 0 | 0 | — |
| Other violent violations | 3 | 0.7 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 133.7 | 31.1 | 7% |
| Possession of stolen property | 31.7 | 7.4 | 21% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 74 | 17.2 | 9% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 9.7 | 2.3 | 7% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 63.3 | 14.7 | 12% |
| Mischief | 90 | 21 | 18% |
| Weapons violations | 5 | 1.2 | 74% |
| Administration of justice violations | 30.7 | 7.1 | 89% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 24.3 | 5.6 | 22% |
| Drug violations | 4.7 | 1.1 | — |
| Impaired driving | 12.7 | 2.9 | 84% |
| 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, Smoky Lake County places 36th
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lac-Etchemin Quebec | 4,089 | 30.8 | 48.9 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 4 | Forty Mile County No. 8 Alberta | 3,927 | 34.4 | 26.6 | A |
| … | |||||
| 26 | Lamont County Alberta | 3,918 | 95.7 | 81.2 | C− |
| … | |||||
| 28 | Fort Macleod Alberta | 3,945 | 96.7 | 83.9 | C− |
| … | |||||
| 33 | Northern Lights County Alberta | 4,115 | 119.8 | 132.1 | C− |
| 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 |
| 37 | Fort Nelson British Columbia | 4,144 | 263.7 | 376.9 | D |
| 38 | Alexander Manitoba | 4,032 | 298.9 | 493 | D− |
| 39 | Watford Ontario | 3,955 | 333.9 | 378.3 | 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 Smoky Lake County in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
4,380 residents, about 110 violent incidents a year: the police area Smoky Lake County belongs to, 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 440 property crimes, plus 120 other violations, a year (2023–2025 average). Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot, one incident a year at the area’s rates.
Smoky Lake County’s index year by year
Crime Severity Index
The middle year, 2024, was the heaviest at 299.9; 2025 was lightest, at 190.1. In the same years the typical Canadian town its size read 74.3 (2023), then 64.2 (2025).
Every year as a table
| Year | Smoky Lake County | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 190.1 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 299.9 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 275 | 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 Smoky Lake County, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Crime in the places around Smoky Lake County
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smoky Lake County | 4,043 | 255 | 152.4 | D |
| Smoky Lake (20 km) | 1,159 | 255 | 152.4 | D |
| Two Hills County No. 21 (49 km) | 3,626 | 119.1 | 74.4 | C− |
| Lamont County (49 km) | 3,918 | 95.7 | 81.2 | C− |
Every neighbour with a figure of its own has a lower index than Smoky Lake County. Closest is Two Hills County No. 21, 48.8 km away, at 119.1 to 255 here. Its police also cover one neighbouring place, which carries the same index and is left out above.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means. No closer places have figures: these lie 20–49 km from Smoky Lake County.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- A small police area. About 4,384 people live in the area these figures cover; at that size one bad year shows up large. Statistics Canada says: “Data for police services or detachments with populations less than 5,000 should be used with caution.”
- Shared with the countryside. Detachment figures cover the detachment’s whole area: Smoky Lake County together with the countryside and smaller places it polices.
- The index’s scale. 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.
- 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. The index weighs crimes rather than counting them: a serious offence moves it far more than a minor one. Statistics Canada is plain about its limits: “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.”
Questions about safety in Smoky Lake County
Is Smoky Lake County safe?
Statistics Canada puts Smoky Lake County at 255 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 26.3 and property crimes at 103 per 1,000 residents a year.
What is the most common crime in Smoky Lake County?
The three biggest groups are break and enter at 31.1, mischief at 21 and other Criminal Code offences at 19.2, each per 1,000 residents a year.
Is crime going up in Smoky Lake County?
No: the index fell 31%, from 275 in 2023 to 190.1 in 2025. The police area is small or partly reported, so treat the change with care.
How much of Smoky Lake County’s crime do police solve?
Counting serious crimes for more, 21% end in a charge or are otherwise solved (34% for the typical Canadian town its size); split up, that is 58% of violent and 13% of non-violent crime.
Whose figures are these?
A shared service or detachment’s, reported as one for Smoky Lake 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).