Photo: Rural Health Professions Action Plan from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada · CC BY 2.0Recorded crime per resident is higher in Vermilion River County than in 77% of Canadian towns
Statistics Canada puts its Crime Severity Index at 96.6 for 2023–2025; the typical Canadian town its size scores 68.5. Still, recorded violent incidents ran at 10.3 per 1,000 residents a year and property crime at 37.5, against 12.9 and 31.2 in the typical town its size. Counting crime the police covering Vermilion River County reported from 2023 to 2025, it grades C− for safety: #217 of 474 in Alberta. Its Crime Severity Index dropped from 95 in 2023 to 86.6 by 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. Not measured by town: crime severity, crime rate and incident counts (the Kitscoty detachment area).
What stands out about safety in Vermilion River County
Break and enter: high for a town its size
Vermilion River County records 9.1 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
Vermilion River County scores 62.7 for violence and 110.9 for other crime; the typical Canadian town its size scores 85.7 and 62.8. By type ↓
Higher than many towns its size
Set among the 40 Canadian towns closest to it in population, Vermilion River County comes 31st, counting from the lowest Crime Severity Index. Towns its size ↓
Near the Alberta middle
The typical Alberta town scores 110; Vermilion River County, 96.6. 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.
What sits behind Vermilion River County’s C−
How sure: Less sure, as Vermilion River County has no detachment of its own in Statistics Canada’s tables and is graded on the closest one’s figures, 6 km away.
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: #217 of 474 in Alberta and #1,910 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.
Crime in Vermilion River County, type by type
Against the typical town its size, Vermilion River County runs highest on break and enter (9.1 per 1,000 against 2.8) and motor vehicle theft (6.8 per 1,000 against 2.6). Sexual assault 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 | 2.7 | 0.4 | — |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 0.3 | 0.05 | — |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 0.7 | 0.09 | — |
| Robbery | 2 | 0.3 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 1 | 0.1 | — |
| Other violent violations | 1.7 | 0.2 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 64.3 | 9.1 | 8% |
| Possession of stolen property | 18.7 | 2.6 | 28% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 48 | 6.8 | 8% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 10.3 | 1.5 | 0% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 43.7 | 6.2 | 8% |
| Mischief | 37.7 | 5.3 | 20% |
| Weapons violations | 5.7 | 0.8 | 70% |
| Administration of justice violations | 44.7 | 6.3 | 92% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 3.3 | 0.5 | — |
| Drug violations | 4.3 | 0.6 | — |
| Impaired driving | 13.3 | 1.9 | 62% |
| 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.
Vermilion River County is 31st of 40 towns its size, lowest index first
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Douro-Dummer Ontario | 8,379 | 14.9 | 13.8 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 8 | Taber Alberta | 8,009 | 29.4 | 30.1 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 28 | Brownsburg-Chatham Quebec | 8,466 | 76.4 | 122.2 | C+ |
| 29 | Clare Nova Scotia | 8,020 | 79.7 | 93.8 | C |
| 30 | Torbay Newfoundland and Labrador | 8,297 | 81 | 104.2 | C |
| 31 | Vermilion River County Alberta | 8,282 | 96.6 | 62.7 | C− |
| 32 | Drumheller Alberta | 8,439 | 101.2 | 101.9 | C− |
| 33 | Trail British Columbia | 8,539 | 114.1 | 118.2 | C− |
| 34 | Rocky Mountain House Alberta | 8,144 | 140.9 | 159.2 | D |
| 35 | Drayton Valley Alberta | 8,047 | 152.4 | 156.3 | D |
| … | |||||
| 37 | Ponoka Alberta | 8,212 | 170.5 | 210.6 | D |
| 38 | Lac la Biche County Alberta | 8,580 | 296.3 | 359.4 | D− |
| … | |||||
| 40 | Happy Valley-Goose Bay Newfoundland and Labrador | 8,197 | 360 | 345 | 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 Vermilion River County in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Vermilion River County, year by year
Crime Severity Index
At 108.1, 2024 topped the three years, and 2025 was lowest at 86.6. Over 2023–2025, the typical Canadian town its size moved from 74.3 to 64.2.
Every year as a table
| Year | Vermilion River County | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 86.6 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 108.1 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 95 | 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 Vermilion River County, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Around 73 violent incidents a year at the detachment nearest Vermilion River County (7,150 residents), 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 270 property crimes and 98 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 Vermilion River County
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vermilion River County | 8,282 | 96.6 | 62.7 | C− |
| Vermilion (20 km) | 4,192 | 142.6 | 129.6 | D |
| Lloydminster (Part) (39 km) | 21,267 | 211.6 | 177.2 | D |
| Britannia No. 502 (40 km) | 2,212 | 125.2 | 105.4 | D |
| Lloydminster (Part) (41 km) | 13,137 | 211.6 | 177.2 | D |
Vermilion River County has the lowest index of the places around it.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means. Distances here run 20–41 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Vermilion River County.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Reading the number. Figures are relative to one fixed point, Canada in 2006 at 100, rather than to this year’s national number.
- Solved cases. Cleared means solved by police, charged or not; it says nothing about what courts decide.
- How serious, not how safe. 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.”
Questions about safety in Vermilion River County
Is Vermilion River County safe?
Vermilion River County’s Crime Severity Index is 96.6 (2023–2025 mean); its police record 10.3 violent incidents and 37.5 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year. The typical figure for Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people is 68.5.
What is the most common crime in Vermilion River County?
The three biggest groups are break and enter at 9.1, other Criminal Code offences at 8.8 and motor vehicle theft at 6.8, each per 1,000 residents a year.
Is crime going up in Vermilion River County?
Over 2023–2025 the index dropped 9%, to 86.6 from 95.
How much of Vermilion River County’s crime do police solve?
Counting serious crimes for more, 27% end in a charge or are otherwise solved (34% for the typical Canadian town its size); split up, that is 59% of violent and 19% of non-violent crime.
Whose figures are these?
Those of the police serving Vermilion River County together with its neighbours or the countryside around it.
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).