Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainPer resident, Electoral Area F, Central Kootenay records less crime than nine in ten Canadian towns
About 20% of crime here is cleared by police, set against 34% for the typical Canadian town its size. By contrast, for every 1,000 residents, 8.0 violent incidents and 16.2 incidents of property crime were logged a year; in the typical town its size, the figures are 12.9 and 31.2. Its letter for safety is A, worked out from crime the police covering Electoral Area F, Central Kootenay reported over 2023 to 2025: #4 of 251 in British Columbia. Violence accounts for an index of 32 and other offences for 37.7, against usual levels 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. Crime severity, crime rate and incident counts published for the Nelson detachment area, not by town.
What stands out about safety in Electoral Area F, Central Kootenay
Easing since 2023
From 43.1 in 2023 to 28.5 in 2025: that is Electoral Area F, Central Kootenay’s index, against 74.3 and 64.2 for the typical Canadian town its size. Year by year ↓
Lighter than British Columbia’s middle
Electoral Area F, Central Kootenay’s index of 35.8 compares with 83.2 for the typical town in British Columbia. Towns its size ↓
A lower index than most towns its size
Of the 40 Canadian towns nearest it in size, Electoral Area F, Central Kootenay places 4th from the lowest index. Towns its size ↓
Non-violent crime leads the index
Set beside the typical Canadian town its size, Electoral Area F, Central Kootenay’s two halves part ways: 32 for violence (typical 85.7) and 37.7 for the rest (typical 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 Electoral Area F, Central Kootenay’s A for safety
How sure: Less sure than most. No detachment reports for Electoral Area F, Central Kootenay itself, so the grade rests on the nearest one’s figures, 6 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.
Electoral Area F, Central Kootenay’s index fell 34% from 2023 to 2025
Crime Severity Index
Its index has not been as high since 2023 (43.1); the low point came in 2025, at 28.5. The comparison line, the typical Canadian town its size, runs from 74.3 in 2023 to 64.2 by 2025.
Every year as a table
| Year | Electoral Area F, 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 F, Central Kootenay, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Electoral Area F, Central Kootenay’s crime by kind
Against the typical town its size, Electoral Area F, 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.
Electoral Area F, Central Kootenay comes 4th of the 40 towns nearest in size
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lac-Etchemin Quebec | 4,089 | 30.8 | 48.9 | A+ |
| 2 | Lake of Bays Ontario | 4,105 | 32.8 | 34.7 | 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 | Haut-Madawaska New Brunswick | 4,098 | 36.3 | 44.6 | A |
| 6 | Simonds New Brunswick | 4,263 | 37.7 | 35.6 | A |
| 7 | Eganville Ontario | 4,326 | 38.6 | 53.5 | A |
| … | |||||
| 18 | Electoral Area E, Cariboo British Columbia | 4,242 | 51.7 | 55.1 | B+ |
| 19 | Electoral Area E, Kitimat-Stikine British Columbia | 4,153 | 53.7 | 75.4 | B |
| 20 | Lantzville British Columbia | 4,276 | 58.9 | 58.4 | B− |
| 21 | Electoral Area B, Cariboo British Columbia | 4,169 | 63.3 | 76.4 | B− |
| … | |||||
| 40 | Fort Nelson British Columbia | 4,144 | 263.7 | 376.9 | 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 F, Central Kootenay in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
The detachment nearest Electoral Area F, Central Kootenay, 13,400 residents: around 110 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 220 a year and other violations 93 (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 Electoral Area F, Central Kootenay
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electoral Area F, Central Kootenay | 4,209 | 35.8 | 32 | A |
| Nelson | 12,126 | 100.4 | 98.4 | C− |
| Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay | 4,309 | 35.8 | 32 | A |
The comparison skips one neighbour reported under the same police.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- How serious, not how safe. Each incident counts by its seriousness, judged from court sentences, and the total is set per resident. As Statistics Canada puts it, “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.”
- Reading the number. Statistics Canada set the national index at 100 for 2006; every figure here is read against that.
- Solved cases. A cleared case is one police consider solved. Whether anyone is convicted is a separate matter the rate doesn’t follow.
Questions about safety in Electoral Area F, Central Kootenay
Is Electoral Area F, Central Kootenay safe?
Electoral Area F, Central Kootenay’s Crime Severity Index is 35.8 (2023–2025 mean); its police record 8 violent incidents and 16.2 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year. The typical figure for Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people is 68.5.
What is the most common crime in Electoral Area F, Central Kootenay?
Top of the list is mischief (5.9 per 1,000 residents a year); other Criminal Code offences, at 3.8, and fraud, at 3.8, follow.
Is crime going up in Electoral Area F, Central Kootenay?
Down 34%: 43.1 in 2023, 28.5 in 2025.
How much of Electoral Area F, Central Kootenay’s crime do police solve?
Police cleared 20% of crime once each incident is weighted by seriousness: 46% of violent crime and 12% of the rest, against 34% for the typical Canadian town its size.
Whose figures are these?
A police service or detachment that covers Electoral Area F, 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).