Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainCrime in South Slope sits close to the middle of Canadian towns
Behind the grade sit 10.9 violent incidents and 35.9 incidents of property crime per 1,000 people a year, where the comparison is 10.8 and 25.1 in the typical Canadian town of 50,000+. On top of that, its letter overall is C+ (#83 of 251 in British Columbia): close to the middle of Canadian towns, from crime its police reported through 2023 to 2025. By 2025 the index had dropped to 68.7, down from 74.2 in 2023. Weighted by seriousness, its crime scores 70.5 on the index for 2023–2025, beside 60.3 for the typical Canadian town of 50,000+.
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. Measured across the Burnaby service area: crime severity and crime rate.
What stands out about safety in South Slope
Less crime solved
The weighted clearance rate, the share of crime police solve, is 15% for South Slope (27% violent, 11% non-violent), beside 38% for Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more. Questions ↓
The non-violent half stands out
South Slope scores 64.6 for violence and 73.4 for other crime; the typical Canadian town of 50,000+ scores 75.2 and 54.2. By type ↓
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 South Slope’s grade
How sure: Less sure than most. The grade rests on a figure for the whole city, so South Slope’s own streets could sit well above or below it.
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: #83 of 251 in British Columbia and #1,398 of 2,572 Canadian towns.
The Crime Severity Index and its two halves, beside the typical figure for Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more.
What Burnaby’s police record, by type
These are Burnaby’s figures, for its police’s whole area: they aren’t published by neighbourhood.
Against the typical town its size, Burnaby runs highest on theft under $5,000 (21.3 per 1,000 against 11.5), break and enter (2.8 per 1,000 against 2.2) and mischief (4.7 per 1,000 against 3.8). Drug offences and motor vehicle theft sit below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 2.3 | 0.01 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 70.7 | 0.2 | 24% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 33.3 | 0.1 | 99% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 12 | 0.04 | 39% |
| Robbery | 121.7 | 0.4 | 24% |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 15 | 0.05 | 73% |
| Other violent violations | 31.3 | 0.1 | 22% |
| Breaking and entering | 805 | 2.8 | 12% |
| Possession of stolen property | 49.3 | 0.2 | 33% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 291.7 | 1 | 3% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 275.3 | 0.9 | 7% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 6,244.7 | 21.3 | 10% |
| Mischief | 1,370.7 | 4.7 | 9% |
| Weapons violations | 146.3 | 0.5 | 40% |
| Administration of justice violations | 323 | 1.1 | 87% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 183.7 | 0.6 | 28% |
| Drug violations | 209.7 | 0.7 | 46% |
| Impaired driving | 267.7 | 0.9 | 77% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 214.3 | 0.7 | 12% |
Statistics Canada’s violation groups for the whole police service or detachment: incidents a year are its own, the town’s share is only estimated in the tiles. 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 50,000 people or more.
South Slope, year by year
Crime Severity Index
Nothing since 2023 has matched that year’s 74.2; the lightest was 2024, at 68.5. Over 2023–2025, the typical Canadian town of 50,000+ moved from 64.3 to 59.2.
Every year as a table
| Year | South Slope | Typical town of 50,000+ |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 68.7 | 59.2 |
| 2024 | 68.5 | 59.9 |
| 2023 | 74.2 | 64.3 |
Statistics Canada, Crime Severity Index by police service, each year as published. Typical: the median of Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more.
The Crime Severity Index of the police covering South Slope, each year, against the typical Canadian town of 50,000+.
Crime in the places around South Slope
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Slope | 8,989 | 70.5 | 64.6 | C+ |
| Royal Oak | 18,364 | 70.5 | 64.6 | C+ |
| Metrotown | 36,594 | 70.5 | 64.6 | C+ |
| Killarney | 32,167 | 93.4 | 99.3 | C− |
| Edmonds | 34,805 | 70.5 | 64.6 | C+ |
| Garden Village | 6,492 | 70.5 | 64.6 | C+ |
| Buckingham Heights | 8,794 | 70.5 | 64.6 | C+ |
Same police, same number: 5 neighbours drop out of the comparison for that reason.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- One figure for the city. No open data breaks the city’s crime down by neighbourhood, so South Slope carries the city-wide figures.
- 100 is Canada in 2006. Figures are relative to one fixed point, Canada in 2006 at 100, rather than to this year’s national number.
- Cleared, not convicted. A crime is cleared when police lay or recommend a charge, or solve it another way; the weighted rate counts serious crimes for more.
- What the index measures. 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.”
Questions about safety in South Slope
Is South Slope safe?
Against a typical 60.3 for Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more, South Slope’s Crime Severity Index stands at 70.5 for 2023–2025. Its police record 10.9 violent incidents and 35.9 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year.
What is the most common crime in South Slope?
The three biggest groups are theft under $5,000 at 21.3, other Criminal Code offences at 10.9 and assault at 5.2, each per 1,000 residents a year.
Is crime going up in South Slope?
Down 7%: 74.2 in 2023, 68.7 in 2025.
How much of South Slope’s crime do police solve?
Weighted by seriousness, police cleared 15% of crime (27% of violent crime, 11% of the rest). The typical Canadian town of 50,000+ clears 38%.
Whose figures are these?
The city police’s, as reported for the whole city.
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).