Photo: R. Sieben · CC BY 3.0Wheatland County sees more crime per resident than 96% of Canadian towns
Its police logs show 85.4 violent incidents and 183.5 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents a year, while in the typical town its size the numbers are 12.0 and 30.5. Graded on crime the police covering Wheatland County reported from 2023 to 2025, it scores D− for safety: #468 of 474 in Alberta. Split in two, the index gives 486.4 for violence and 226.4 for everything else (normally 89.4 and 56). The index rose from 267.6 in 2023 to 333.2 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. Crime severity, crime rate and incident counts: the Gleichen detachment area.
What stands out about safety in Wheatland County
Mischief: high for a town its size
Wheatland County records 147.6 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 ↓
Heavier than Alberta’s middle
Wheatland County’s index of 298.8 compares with 110 for the typical town in Alberta. Towns its size ↓
Police clear more here
Weighted by seriousness, 53% of crime in Wheatland County ends in a charge or is otherwise solved: 66% of violent crime and 42% of the rest. Across Canadian towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people the figure is 33%. Questions ↓
A higher index than most towns its size
Of the 40 Canadian towns nearest it in size, Wheatland County places 40th from the lowest index. 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’s behind Wheatland County’s grade
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: #468 of 474 in Alberta and #2,535 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.
Which crimes make up Wheatland County’s figures
Against the typical town its size, Wheatland County runs highest on mischief (147.6 per 1,000 against 3.7), assault (61.1 per 1,000 against 6.6) and motor vehicle theft (9.4 per 1,000 against 2.4). Drug offences and fraud sit below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 1.3 | 0.2 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 6 | 1 | 78% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 4.7 | 0.8 | — |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 7.7 | 1.2 | 43% |
| Robbery | 6 | 1 | 62% |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 4.7 | 0.8 | — |
| Other violent violations | 1.7 | 0.3 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 47.7 | 7.8 | 30% |
| Possession of stolen property | 24.7 | 4 | 34% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 58 | 9.4 | 24% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 3.7 | 0.6 | — |
| Theft under $5,000 | 63 | 10.2 | 17% |
| Mischief | 907.7 | 147.6 | 48% |
| Weapons violations | 16 | 2.6 | 73% |
| Administration of justice violations | 82.7 | 13.4 | 81% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 28 | 4.6 | 56% |
| Drug violations | 4.3 | 0.7 | — |
| Impaired driving | 35.7 | 5.8 | 64% |
| 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 10,000 to 50,000 people.
Wheatland County, year by year
Crime Severity Index
2025, the last year shown, came out highest at 333.2, and 2023 lowest at 267.6. The comparison line, the typical Canadian town its size, runs from 69.5 in 2023 to 60 by 2025.
Every year as a table
| Year | Wheatland County | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 333.2 | 60 |
| 2024 | 295.7 | 67.9 |
| 2023 | 267.6 | 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 Wheatland County, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
By its index, Wheatland County stands 40th of 40 towns its size
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beckwith Ontario | 10,073 | 20.5 | 25.5 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 24 | Coaldale Alberta | 9,644 | 57.1 | 45.1 | B |
| … | |||||
| 33 | Taber Alberta | 10,175 | 84.8 | 74.7 | C |
| 34 | Olds Alberta | 9,653 | 85.6 | 86.2 | C |
| … | |||||
| 37 | Hinton Alberta | 10,124 | 137.3 | 109.5 | D |
| 38 | Amherst Nova Scotia | 10,072 | 149.6 | 131.2 | D |
| 39 | Quesnel British Columbia | 10,253 | 275.7 | 243.5 | D |
| 40 | Wheatland County Alberta | 10,150 | 298.8 | 486.4 | 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 Wheatland County in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
The police area Wheatland County is part of, 6,160 residents, recorded about 530 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 1,130 a year and other violations 260 (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 Wheatland County
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wheatland County | 10,150 | 298.8 | 486.4 | D− |
| Strathmore (12 km) | 16,416 | 66.8 | 78.9 | B− |
| Chestermere (41 km) | 31,671 | 43.2 | 43.5 | A− |
| Irricana (44 km) | 1,240 | 44.7 | 45.6 | A− |
Wheatland County has the highest index of the places around it. Just 12.3 km away, Strathmore comes to 66.8, against 298.8.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means. Wheatland County has few close neighbours with figures, so the list reaches 12–44 km out.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- A wider policing area. An RCMP or OPP detachment reports one set of figures for everywhere it polices, so Wheatland County’s are shared with its surroundings.
- What 100 means. 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.
- The clearance rate. Weighted like the index, so solving one assault counts for more than solving a mischief; a charge laid, recommended or otherwise resolved all count.
- Severity, weighed. Statistics Canada, which publishes the index, attaches a caution: “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.” The number weighs each reported crime by its seriousness before dividing by residents.
Questions about safety in Wheatland County
Is Wheatland County safe?
With 85.4 violent incidents and 183.5 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, Wheatland County comes to 298.8 on the Crime Severity Index (2023–2025); Canadian towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people have a median of 66.
What is the most common crime in Wheatland County?
Most often it is mischief: 147.6 per 1,000 residents a year. Next come assault at 61.1 and other Criminal Code offences at 32.7.
Is crime going up in Wheatland County?
It went up 24% between 2023 and 2025, from 267.6 to 333.2.
How much of Wheatland County’s crime do police solve?
Police solve 66% of violent crime and 42% of everything else, 53% overall once each crime is weighted by seriousness, against 33% for the typical Canadian town its size.
Whose figures are these?
Those of the police serving Wheatland 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).