Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Sylvan Lake records more crime per resident than seven in ten Canadian towns
Its letter for safety is C, worked out from crime the police covering Sylvan Lake reported over 2023 to 2025: #196 of 474 in Alberta. Per 1,000 residents a year, 17.8 violent incidents and 41.3 incidents of property crime were recorded, against 12.0 and 30.5 in the typical town its size. Weighted by seriousness, its crime scores 82.3 on the index for 2023–2025, beside 66 for the typical Canadian town its size. The index fell from 88.2 in 2023 to 74.9 in 2025.
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 Sylvan Lake
Mischief: high for a town its size
Sylvan Lake records 13.6 incidents of mischief per 1,000 residents a year, against 3.7 in the typical town among Canadian towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people. By type ↓
Higher than many towns its size
Set among the 40 Canadian towns closest to it in population, Sylvan Lake comes 31st, counting from the lowest Crime Severity Index. Towns its size ↓
Under the Alberta norm
The typical Alberta town scores 110; Sylvan Lake, 82.3. Towns its size ↓
Non-violent crime leads the index
Sylvan Lake’s index splits into violent crime, 83.4 here and 89.4 for the typical Canadian town its size, and everything else, 82.6 against 56. 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: C for Sylvan Lake
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: #196 of 474 in Alberta and #1,745 of 2,572 Canadian towns.
The Crime Severity Index and its two halves, beside the typical figure for Canadian towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people.
What police record in Sylvan Lake, by type
Against the typical town its size, Sylvan Lake runs highest on mischief (13.6 per 1,000 against 3.7), motor vehicle theft (4.4 per 1,000 against 2.4) and fraud (7.2 per 1,000 against 5.1). 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 | 7 | 0.4 | 57% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 3.3 | 0.2 | — |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 2.3 | 0.1 | — |
| Robbery | 3.3 | 0.2 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 2.7 | 0.2 | — |
| Other violent violations | 4 | 0.2 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 50.7 | 2.9 | 18% |
| Possession of stolen property | 36 | 2.1 | 18% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 76 | 4.4 | 6% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 16 | 0.9 | 6% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 174 | 10 | 9% |
| Mischief | 237.7 | 13.6 | 17% |
| Weapons violations | 8.7 | 0.5 | 66% |
| Administration of justice violations | 59.3 | 3.4 | 68% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 23.7 | 1.4 | 46% |
| Drug violations | 16.7 | 1 | 46% |
| Impaired driving | 87.3 | 5 | 59% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 5 | 0.3 | 14% |
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 10,000 to 50,000 people.
Sylvan Lake, year by year
Crime Severity Index
Nothing since 2023 has matched that year’s 88.2; the lightest was 2025, at 74.9. In the same years the typical Canadian town its size read 69.5 (2023), then 60 (2025).
Every year as a table
| Year | Sylvan Lake | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 74.9 | 60 |
| 2024 | 83.9 | 67.9 |
| 2023 | 88.2 | 69.5 |
Statistics Canada, Crime Severity Index by police service, each year as published. Typical: the median of Canadian towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people.
The Crime Severity Index of the police covering Sylvan Lake, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Sylvan Lake comes 31st of the 40 towns nearest in size
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oak Bay British Columbia | 18,626 | 26.7 | 23.4 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 16 | Canmore Alberta | 17,341 | 50.1 | 41.1 | B+ |
| … | |||||
| 21 | Strathmore Alberta | 16,416 | 66.8 | 78.9 | B− |
| … | |||||
| 28 | Sooke British Columbia | 17,248 | 81.4 | 79.8 | C |
| 29 | Midland Ontario | 19,305 | 81.8 | 97.3 | C |
| 30 | Miramichi New Brunswick | 19,402 | 82.1 | 89.1 | C |
| 31 | Sylvan Lake Alberta | 17,897 | 82.3 | 83.4 | C |
| 32 | Edmundston New Brunswick | 18,174 | 85 | 102.4 | C |
| 33 | Stony Plain Alberta | 19,662 | 88.4 | 74.6 | C |
| 34 | Brooks Alberta | 17,537 | 91.9 | 120.8 | C |
| … | |||||
| 38 | Leduc County Alberta | 16,400 | 162.1 | 88.2 | D |
| … | |||||
| 40 | Cold Lake Alberta | 17,798 | 204.1 | 204.7 | 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 Sylvan Lake in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Police in Sylvan Lake recorded about 310 violent incidents a year, 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.
Property crime adds about 720 a year and other violations 340 (2023–2025 average). Of 1,000 dots, one per resident, the coloured ones are a year’s incidents at these rates.
Crime in the places around Sylvan Lake
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sylvan Lake | 17,897 | 82.3 | 83.4 | C |
| Bentley (18 km) | 1,153 | 67.3 | 43.3 | B− |
| Eckville (20 km) | 1,088 | 67.3 | 43.3 | B− |
| Red Deer (21 km) | 115,409 | 126.8 | 134.3 | D |
| Red Deer County (21 km) | 22,076 | 73.6 | 64.8 | C+ |
| Blackfalds (23 km) | 12,258 | 50.8 | 49.1 | B+ |
Of 5 places nearby with their own figures, 4 come in under Sylvan Lake. The nearest of them, Bentley (18.5 km away), scores 67.3 against 82.3.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means. Distances here run 18–23 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Sylvan Lake.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 100 is Canada in 2006. 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.
- 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. Statistics Canada builds the index from every crime police record, weighted by how seriously the courts treat it, and divides by the population. It adds a warning of its own: “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.”
Questions about safety in Sylvan Lake
Is Sylvan Lake safe?
Sylvan Lake’s Crime Severity Index is 82.3 (2023–2025 mean); its police record 17.8 violent incidents and 41.3 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year. Set that beside 66, the median for Canadian towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people.
What is the most common crime in Sylvan Lake?
The three biggest groups are mischief at 13.6, other Criminal Code offences at 11.5 and theft under $5,000 at 10, each per 1,000 residents a year.
Is crime going up in Sylvan Lake?
No: the index fell 15%, from 88.2 in 2023 to 74.9 in 2025.
How much of Sylvan Lake’s crime do police solve?
Weighted by seriousness, police cleared 28% of crime (47% of violent crime, 20% of the rest). The typical Canadian town its size clears 33%.
Whose figures are these?
A police service or contract that serves Sylvan Lake 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).