Photo: Carsell: Photographer · Public domainWainwright sees more crime per resident than four in five Canadian towns
Against usual levels of 85.7 and 62.8, violent and non-violent offences here reach 121.8 and 110.4. On the record of crime the police covering Wainwright reported from 2023 to 2025, it takes C− for safety: #422 of 474 in Alberta. Each year brought 23.3 violent incidents and 46.3 incidents of property crime for every 1,000 residents (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.
What stands out about safety in Wainwright
Drug offences: high for a town its size
Wainwright records 3.1 incidents of drug offences per 1,000 residents a year, against 0.7 in the typical town among Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people. By type ↓
Up since 2023
Between 2023 and 2025, Wainwright moved from 96.3 to 118.2, while the typical Canadian town its size went from 74.3 to 64.2. Year by year ↓
Higher than many towns its size
Line up the 40 Canadian towns nearest in size by their index and Wainwright stands 30th, the lowest first. Towns its size ↓
Close to Alberta’s typical town
Within Alberta, the median town comes to 110 on the index, against 113 in Wainwright. 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 grade: C− for Wainwright
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: #422 of 474 in Alberta and #2,208 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.
Wainwright’s crime by kind
Against the typical town its size, Wainwright runs highest on drug offences (3.1 per 1,000 against 0.7), mischief (12.6 per 1,000 against 4.9) and break and enter (5.4 per 1,000 against 2.8).
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0 | 0 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 5 | 0.7 | 86% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 0.7 | 0.10 | — |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 0.3 | 0.05 | — |
| Robbery | 1.3 | 0.2 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 1.7 | 0.2 | — |
| Other violent violations | 3 | 0.4 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 37.3 | 5.4 | 13% |
| Possession of stolen property | 11 | 1.6 | 21% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 25.7 | 3.7 | 14% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 11.3 | 1.6 | 3% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 92.3 | 13.4 | 19% |
| Mischief | 87 | 12.6 | 20% |
| Weapons violations | 4 | 0.6 | — |
| Administration of justice violations | 59.3 | 8.6 | 91% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 7 | 1 | 53% |
| Drug violations | 21.7 | 3.1 | 38% |
| Impaired driving | 16.7 | 2.4 | 74% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 7 | 1 | 10% |
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.
Year by year in Wainwright: up 23%, 2023 to 2025
Crime Severity Index
At 124.4, 2024 topped the three years, and 2023 was lowest at 96.3. For the typical Canadian town its size, 2023 gave 74.3 and 2025 gave 64.2.
Every year as a table
| Year | Wainwright | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 118.2 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 124.4 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 96.3 | 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 Wainwright, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Among 40 towns its size, Wainwright places 30th
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Parkhill Ontario | 6,864 | 25.7 | 29 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 26 | Devon Alberta | 6,965 | 76.7 | 61.5 | C+ |
| 27 | Rhineland Manitoba | 6,819 | 85.4 | 94.1 | C |
| 28 | Springhill Nova Scotia | 7,015 | 93.1 | 86.7 | C− |
| 29 | Annapolis County, Subdivision A Nova Scotia | 6,719 | 96 | 107.6 | C− |
| 30 | Wainwright Alberta | 6,996 | 113 | 121.8 | C− |
| 31 | Gimli Manitoba | 6,914 | 126.6 | 134.2 | D |
| 32 | Stephenville Newfoundland and Labrador | 6,840 | 128.1 | 115.3 | D |
| 33 | Chibougamau Quebec | 7,273 | 128.7 | 264.7 | D |
| … | |||||
| 35 | Athabasca County Alberta | 7,280 | 165 | 138.6 | D |
| 36 | Slave Lake Alberta | 7,334 | 186.1 | 153.9 | D |
| … | |||||
| 38 | Peace River Alberta | 7,220 | 254.7 | 229 | D |
| … | |||||
| 40 | Algoma, Unorganized, North Part Ontario | 7,008 | 302.3 | 509 | 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 Wainwright in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Police in Wainwright recorded about 160 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 320 a year and other violations 170 (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 Wainwright
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wainwright | 6,996 | 113 | 121.8 | C− |
| Wainwright No. 61 (4 km) | 4,576 | 63.5 | 42.7 | B− |
| Vermilion (57 km) | 4,192 | 142.6 | 129.6 | D |
| Provost No. 52 (60 km) | 2,092 | 111.4 | 90.4 | C− |
| Vermilion River County (66 km) | 8,282 | 96.6 | 62.7 | C− |
| Provost (67 km) | 1,875 | 111.4 | 90.4 | C− |
Nearby, 4 of 5 places with their own figures have a lower index than Wainwright. Just 4.2 km away, Wainwright No. 61 comes to 63.5, against 113.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means. The nearest places to Wainwright with figures are 4–67 km away.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Severity, weighed. 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.”
- What 100 means. Statistics Canada set the national index at 100 for 2006; every figure here is read against that.
- The clearance rate. A crime is cleared when police lay or recommend a charge, or solve it another way; the weighted rate counts serious crimes for more.
Questions about safety in Wainwright
Is Wainwright safe?
Wainwright measures 113 on the Crime Severity Index for 2023–2025, next to 68.5 for Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people. Per 1,000 residents a year, its police record 23.3 violent incidents and 46.3 property crimes.
What is the most common crime in Wainwright?
The three biggest groups are other Criminal Code offences at 16.7, theft under $5,000 at 13.4 and mischief at 12.6, each per 1,000 residents a year.
Is crime going up in Wainwright?
Yes: the index rose 23%, from 96.3 in 2023 to 118.2 in 2025.
How much of Wainwright’s crime do police solve?
The weighted clearance rate is 36%: 65% for violent crime and 22% for non-violent. For the typical Canadian town its size it is 34%.
Whose figures are these?
They are Wainwright’s own: its police cover the town and no other.
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).