Photo: Koppertone · CC BY-SA 3.0Recorded crime per resident is higher in Whitecourt than in 90% of Canadian towns
Steady over the three years, the index read 143.5 in 2023 and 148.3 in 2025. Typical years here bring 27.7 violent incidents plus 66.0 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents, against 12.0 plus 30.5 in the typical town its size. Counting crime the police covering Whitecourt reported from 2023 to 2025, it grades D for safety: #446 of 474 in Alberta. Of the two halves, violence comes to 128.4 and other offences to 154.7, beside norms of 89.4 and 56.
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 Whitecourt
Mischief: high for a town its size
Whitecourt records 19.4 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 ↓
Non-violent crime leads the index
Violent crime scores 128.4 on Whitecourt’s index against 89.4 for the typical Canadian town its size; non-violent crime, 154.7 against 56. By type ↓
A higher index than most towns its size
Of the 40 Canadian towns nearest it in size, Whitecourt places 37th from the lowest index. Towns its size ↓
Heavier than Alberta’s middle
Whitecourt’s index of 146.3 compares with 110 for the typical town in Alberta. 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 Whitecourt’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: #446 of 474 in Alberta and #2,458 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 Whitecourt’s figures
Against the typical town its size, Whitecourt runs highest on mischief (19.4 per 1,000 against 3.7), break and enter (8.5 per 1,000 against 2.2) and drug offences (3 per 1,000 against 0.8).
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0 | 0 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 8 | 0.8 | 54% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 5.7 | 0.5 | 100% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 1 | 0.10 | — |
| Robbery | 4.3 | 0.4 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 2.7 | 0.3 | — |
| Other violent violations | 3 | 0.3 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 88.7 | 8.5 | 17% |
| Possession of stolen property | 25 | 2.4 | 33% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 77.3 | 7.4 | 13% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 12 | 1.1 | 11% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 184.3 | 17.6 | 19% |
| Mischief | 202.3 | 19.4 | 25% |
| Weapons violations | 11.3 | 1.1 | 71% |
| Administration of justice violations | 136.3 | 13.1 | 84% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 23 | 2.2 | 35% |
| Drug violations | 31.3 | 3 | 23% |
| Impaired driving | 54.7 | 5.2 | 65% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 0.3 | 0.03 | — |
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.
Among 40 towns its size, Whitecourt places 37th
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beckwith Ontario | 10,073 | 20.5 | 25.5 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 23 | Morinville Alberta | 10,763 | 66.4 | 81.6 | B− |
| 24 | Ponoka County Alberta | 10,670 | 67.6 | 54.5 | B− |
| … | |||||
| 29 | Taber Alberta | 10,175 | 84.8 | 74.7 | C |
| 30 | Lacombe County Alberta | 11,072 | 94.9 | 66.9 | C− |
| … | |||||
| 34 | Yellowhead County Alberta | 10,966 | 120 | 99.2 | D |
| 35 | New Glasgow Nova Scotia | 10,378 | 128.5 | 146.4 | D |
| 36 | Hinton Alberta | 10,124 | 137.3 | 109.5 | D |
| 37 | Whitecourt Alberta | 10,708 | 146.3 | 128.4 | 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 Whitecourt in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Whitecourt’s police: about 290 violent incidents a year over 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 690 property crimes and 360 other violations a year (2023–2025 average). The grid is 1,000 residents, a coloured dot for each incident a year at these rates.
Whitecourt, year by year
Crime Severity Index
Its most recent year, 2025, was also its heaviest (148.3); the lightest was 2023 (143.5). For the typical Canadian town its size, 2023 gave 69.5 and 2025 gave 60.
Every year as a table
| Year | Whitecourt | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 148.3 | 60 |
| 2024 | 147 | 67.9 |
| 2023 | 143.5 | 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 Whitecourt, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Crime in the places around Whitecourt
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whitecourt | 10,708 | 146.3 | 128.4 | D |
| Woodlands County (9 km) | 4,778 | 120.9 | 106.4 | D |
| Mayerthorpe (41 km) | 1,419 | 178 | 232.8 | D |
| Yellowhead County (62 km) | 10,966 | 120 | 99.2 | D |
| Swan Hills (66 km) | 1,430 | 194.9 | 106.8 | D |
| Barrhead County No. 11 (75 km) | 6,186 | 81.9 | 73.6 | C |
Whitecourt sits above 3 of the 5 neighbours with figures of their own. Just 9.4 km away, Woodlands County comes to 120.9, against 146.3.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means. No closer places have figures: these lie 9–75 km from Whitecourt.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The clearance rate. 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.
- Severity, weighed. The Crime Severity Index adds up police-reported crime, each kind weighted by the sentences courts give it, so one robbery counts for more than many thefts. In Statistics Canada’s words, “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.”
- What 100 means. A reading of 100 is the whole country in 2006. Half of that, 50, means half the severity per resident.
Questions about safety in Whitecourt
Is Whitecourt safe?
Police-reported crime in Whitecourt scores 146.3 on Statistics Canada’s Crime Severity Index (2023–2025 mean), with 27.7 violent incidents and 66 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year. The middle of Canadian towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people is 66.
What is the most common crime in Whitecourt?
Most often it is other Criminal Code offences: 24.3 per 1,000 residents a year. Next come mischief at 19.4 and theft under $5,000 at 17.6.
Is crime going up in Whitecourt?
Not much: the index went from 143.5 in 2023 to 148.3 in 2025.
How much of Whitecourt’s crime do police solve?
The weighted clearance rate is 33%: 57% for violent crime and 25% for non-violent. For the typical Canadian town its size it is 33%.
Whose figures are these?
Its own police: the service or contract that covers Whitecourt and nowhere else.
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).