Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainFewer crimes per resident are recorded in Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay than in 91% of Canadian towns
For solved cases, the weighted rate is 20%, where the typical Canadian town its size manages 34%. A Safety Grade of A follows from crime the police covering Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay reported over the years 2023 to 2025: #4 of 251 in British Columbia. Its violent half comes to 32 and its non-violent half to 37.7, where the norm is 85.7 and 62.8. Police counts work out at 8.0 violent incidents and 16.2 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents annually; in the typical town its size they are 12.9 and 31.2.
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 for the Nelson detachment area.
What stands out about safety in Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay
Less severe than in 2023
Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay’s index went from 43.1 in 2023 to 28.5 in 2025; the typical Canadian town its size moved from 74.3 to 64.2. Year by year ↓
Lighter than British Columbia’s middle
The typical British Columbia town scores 83.2; Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay, 35.8. Towns its size ↓
A lower index than most towns its size
Set among the 40 Canadian towns closest to it in population, Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay comes 3rd, counting from the lowest Crime Severity Index. Towns its size ↓
Heavier on property and other crime
Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay’s index splits into violent crime, 32 here and 85.7 for the typical Canadian town its size, and everything else, 37.7 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.
The A for Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay, and how it is built
How sure: Less sure, as Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay has no detachment of its own in Statistics Canada’s tables and is graded on the closest one’s figures, 9 km away.
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: #4 of 251 in British Columbia and #192 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.
From 2023 to 2025, Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay’s index dropped 34%
Crime Severity Index
2023 opened the run as its heaviest year (43.1); 2025 was the lightest, at 28.5. In the same years the typical Canadian town its size read 74.3 (2023), then 64.2 (2025).
Every year as a table
| Year | Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 28.5 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 35.9 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 43.1 | 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 Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
What police record in Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay, by type
Against the typical town its size, Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay runs highest on mischief (5.9 per 1,000 against 4.9). Assault and theft under $5,000 sit below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0 | 0 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 3 | 0.2 | — |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 3.7 | 0.3 | — |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 0 | 0 | — |
| Robbery | 0 | 0 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 0.7 | 0.05 | — |
| Other violent violations | 1.3 | 0.1 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 17 | 1.3 | 8% |
| Possession of stolen property | 6 | 0.4 | 38% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 14.3 | 1.1 | 9% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 5.7 | 0.4 | 0% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 43.3 | 3.2 | 5% |
| Mischief | 78.7 | 5.9 | 2% |
| Weapons violations | 1 | 0.08 | — |
| Administration of justice violations | 18 | 1.3 | 65% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 7.3 | 0.5 | 18% |
| Drug violations | 2 | 0.1 | — |
| Impaired driving | 27.7 | 2.1 | 86% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 0.7 | 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 2,500 to 10,000 people.
Among 40 towns its size, Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay places 3rd
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beresford New Brunswick | 4,389 | 25 | 35.4 | A+ |
| 2 | Montague Ontario | 4,414 | 30.8 | 39.6 | A+ |
| 3 | Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay British Columbia | 4,309 | 35.8 | 32 | A |
| 4 | Electoral Area F, Central Kootenay British Columbia | 4,209 | 35.8 | 32 | A |
| 5 | Simonds New Brunswick | 4,263 | 37.7 | 35.6 | A |
| 6 | Eganville Ontario | 4,326 | 38.6 | 53.5 | A |
| … | |||||
| 16 | Electoral Area E, Cariboo British Columbia | 4,242 | 51.7 | 55.1 | B+ |
| … | |||||
| 18 | Lantzville British Columbia | 4,276 | 58.9 | 58.4 | B− |
| … | |||||
| 20 | Electoral Area B, Cariboo British Columbia | 4,169 | 63.3 | 76.4 | B− |
| 21 | Rossland British Columbia | 4,355 | 63.8 | 58.3 | B− |
| … | |||||
| 40 | High Level Alberta | 4,390 | 324 | 498.7 | 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 Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
About 110 violent incidents a year in the area of the detachment nearest Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay (13,400 residents), 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.
And about 220 property crimes, plus 93 other violations, a year (2023–2025 average). Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot, one incident a year at the area’s rates.
Crime in the places around Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay | 4,309 | 35.8 | 32 | A |
| Nelson | 12,126 | 100.4 | 98.4 | C− |
| Electoral Area F, Central Kootenay | 4,209 | 35.8 | 32 | A |
A neighbour policed by the same service carries the same figure, so it isn’t set against it.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- An index, not a verdict. 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.”
- The index’s scale. A reading of 100 is the whole country in 2006. Half of that, 50, means half the severity per resident.
- What clearance means. Weighted like the index, so solving one assault counts for more than solving a mischief; a charge laid, recommended or otherwise resolved all count.
Questions about safety in Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay
Is Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay safe?
Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay scores 35.8 on Statistics Canada’s Crime Severity Index (2023–2025 mean), where the typical figure for Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people is 68.5; per 1,000 residents a year that is 8 violent incidents and 16.2 property crimes.
What is the most common crime in Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay?
The three biggest groups are mischief at 5.9, other Criminal Code offences at 3.8 and fraud at 3.8, each per 1,000 residents a year.
Is crime going up in Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay?
It went down 34% between 2023 and 2025, from 43.1 to 28.5.
How much of Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay’s crime do police solve?
About 20% of crime is cleared, weighted by seriousness, with 46% of violent and 12% of other crime; the figure for the typical Canadian town its size is 34%.
Whose figures are these?
A police service or detachment that covers Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay 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).