Photo: Wilson Hui from Calgary, Canada · CC BY 2.0Westlock County sees more crime per resident than 88% of Canadian towns
Across Alberta’s towns, the middle index is 110. A Safety Grade of D follows from crime the police covering Westlock County reported over the years 2023 to 2025: #437 of 474 in Alberta. The local count comes to 17.8 violent incidents and 62.6 incidents of property crime per 1,000 people each year, with 12.9 and 31.2 in the typical town its size. Of the two halves, violence comes to 116.4 and other offences to 136.2, beside norms of 85.7 and 62.8.
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. Data for crime severity, crime rate and incident counts covers the Westlock detachment area.
What stands out about safety in Westlock County
Mischief: high for a town its size
Westlock County records 23.3 incidents of mischief per 1,000 residents a year, against 4.9 in the typical town among Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people. By type ↓
Less severe than in 2023
From 143.5 in 2023 to 99.9 in 2025: that is Westlock County’s index, against 74.3 and 64.2 for the typical Canadian town its size. Year by year ↓
Higher than many towns its size
Of the 40 Canadian towns nearest it in size, Westlock County places 32nd from the lowest index. Towns its size ↓
The non-violent half stands out
Violent crime scores 116.4 on Westlock County’s index against 85.7 for the typical Canadian town its size; non-violent crime, 136.2 against 62.8. By type ↓
Written from Statistics Canada’s police-reported crime by police service and detachment, 2023–2025. Figures are what police recorded, not convictions.
Inside Westlock 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: #437 of 474 in Alberta and #2,309 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.
Westlock County’s index fell 30% from 2023 to 2025
Crime Severity Index
It rose to 145.9 in 2024 before easing, with the low of 99.9 in 2025. For the typical Canadian town its size, 2023 gave 74.3 and 2025 gave 64.2.
Every year as a table
| Year | Westlock County | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 99.9 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 145.9 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 143.5 | 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 Westlock County, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Which crimes make up Westlock County’s figures
Against the typical town its size, Westlock County runs highest on mischief (23.3 per 1,000 against 4.9), break and enter (9.5 per 1,000 against 2.8) and drug offences (1.5 per 1,000 against 0.7). Theft under $5,000 sits below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0.3 | 0.03 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 8.3 | 0.6 | 64% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 5.3 | 0.4 | 100% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 3.7 | 0.3 | — |
| Robbery | 1.7 | 0.1 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 1.3 | 0.10 | — |
| Other violent violations | 5 | 0.4 | 40% |
| Breaking and entering | 129 | 9.5 | 15% |
| Possession of stolen property | 55 | 4 | 25% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 67 | 4.9 | 15% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 15.7 | 1.2 | 11% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 157 | 11.5 | 16% |
| Mischief | 316.7 | 23.3 | 25% |
| Weapons violations | 5 | 0.4 | 80% |
| Administration of justice violations | 94.3 | 6.9 | 66% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 24.7 | 1.8 | 36% |
| Drug violations | 20.3 | 1.5 | 44% |
| Impaired driving | 20.7 | 1.5 | 79% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 1.3 | 0.10 | — |
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.
Westlock County is 32nd of 40 towns its size, lowest index first
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Trent Lakes Ontario | 7,357 | 20.6 | 24.8 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 9 | Newell County Alberta | 7,846 | 40.4 | 25.8 | A− |
| … | |||||
| 21 | Cypress County Alberta | 7,855 | 66.6 | 46.6 | B− |
| … | |||||
| 29 | Parry Sound Ontario | 7,584 | 92.2 | 121.3 | C |
| 30 | Campbellton New Brunswick | 7,485 | 113.1 | 160.7 | C− |
| 31 | Chibougamau Quebec | 7,273 | 128.7 | 264.7 | D |
| 32 | Westlock County Alberta | 7,556 | 129.8 | 116.4 | D |
| 33 | Brazeau County Alberta | 7,685 | 130 | 92.3 | D |
| 34 | Digby Nova Scotia | 7,528 | 130.3 | 157.9 | D |
| 35 | Dryden Ontario | 7,808 | 137.6 | 238.3 | D |
| … | |||||
| 37 | Athabasca County Alberta | 7,280 | 165 | 138.6 | D |
| 38 | Slave Lake Alberta | 7,334 | 186.1 | 153.9 | D |
| … | |||||
| 40 | Bonnyville Alberta | 7,366 | 285.4 | 211.4 | 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 Westlock County in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
13,800 residents, about 240 violent incidents a year: the police area Westlock 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.
Property crime adds about 850 a year and other violations 240 (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 Westlock County
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Westlock County | 7,556 | 129.8 | 116.4 | D |
| Westlock (10 km) | 5,363 | 129.8 | 116.4 | D |
| Barrhead (32 km) | 4,768 | 81.9 | 73.6 | C |
| Legal (38 km) | 1,253 | 84.7 | 81.5 | C |
| Barrhead County No. 11 (38 km) | 6,186 | 81.9 | 73.6 | C |
Each neighbour with its own figure comes in under Westlock County. Barrhead, 31.6 km away, is the nearest lower one, at 81.9 to 129.8. One neighbour reports through the same police, so its figure is this one and it isn’t compared.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means. Westlock County has few close neighbours with figures, so the list reaches 10–38 km out.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- How serious, not how safe. 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.”
- Town and surroundings together. An RCMP or OPP detachment reports one set of figures for everywhere it polices, so Westlock County’s are shared with its surroundings.
- Reading the number. A reading of 100 is the whole country in 2006. Half of that, 50, means half the severity per resident.
- Solved cases. 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.
Questions about safety in Westlock County
Is Westlock County safe?
Averaged over 2023–2025, the Crime Severity Index for Westlock County comes to 129.8. Per 1,000 residents a year, police logged 17.8 violent incidents and 62.6 property crimes. For Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, the typical index is 68.5.
What is the most common crime in Westlock County?
Police record mischief most, 23.3 per 1,000 residents a year, ahead of other Criminal Code offences (12.8) and theft under $5,000 (11.5).
Is crime going up in Westlock County?
It went down 30% between 2023 and 2025, from 143.5 to 99.9.
How much of Westlock County’s crime do police solve?
Police solve 68% of violent crime and 21% of everything else, 33% overall once each crime is weighted by seriousness, against 34% for the typical Canadian town its size.
Whose figures are these?
A police service or detachment that covers Westlock County and other places, so the figures are shared.
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).