Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainElectoral Area I, Central Kootenay sees less crime per resident than four in five Canadian towns
Across 2023 to 2025 the index held steady, 41.4 to 43.4. A Safety Grade of A− follows from crime the police covering Electoral Area I, Central Kootenay reported over the years 2023 to 2025: #18 of 251 in British Columbia. Its violent half comes to 50.5 and its non-violent half to 39.5, where the norm is 85.7 and 62.8. Recorded violent incidents ran at 10.9 per 1,000 residents a year and property crime at 17.3, against 12.9 and 31.2 in the typical town its size.
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 Castlegar detachment area, not by town.
What stands out about safety in Electoral Area I, Central Kootenay
Under the British Columbia norm
Within British Columbia, the median town comes to 83.2 on the index, against 42.4 in Electoral Area I, Central Kootenay. Towns its size ↓
A lower index than most towns its size
Line up the 40 Canadian towns nearest in size by their index and Electoral Area I, Central Kootenay stands 5th, the lowest first. Towns its size ↓
Mischief: high for a town its size
Electoral Area I, Central Kootenay records 7.4 incidents of mischief per 1,000 residents a year, against 4.9 in the typical town among Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people. 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 I, Central Kootenay, and how it is built
How sure: Less sure, as Electoral Area I, Central Kootenay has no detachment of its own in Statistics Canada’s tables and is graded on the closest one’s figures, 12 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: #18 of 251 in British Columbia and #319 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.
Crime in Electoral Area I, Central Kootenay, type by type
Against the typical town its size, Electoral Area I, Central Kootenay runs highest on mischief (7.4 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 | 2.3 | 0.3 | — |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 0.7 | 0.10 | — |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 0.3 | 0.05 | — |
| Robbery | 0.7 | 0.10 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 0.3 | 0.05 | — |
| Other violent violations | 1 | 0.1 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 8 | 1.2 | 21% |
| Possession of stolen property | 2 | 0.3 | — |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 4.3 | 0.6 | — |
| Theft over $5,000 | 2.7 | 0.4 | — |
| Theft under $5,000 | 24.7 | 3.6 | 11% |
| Mischief | 50 | 7.4 | 19% |
| Weapons violations | 0.3 | 0.05 | — |
| Administration of justice violations | 12.7 | 1.9 | 50% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 9 | 1.3 | 26% |
| Drug violations | 6 | 0.9 | 78% |
| Impaired driving | 38 | 5.6 | 69% |
| 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 2,500 to 10,000 people.
By its index, Electoral Area I, Central Kootenay stands 5th of 40 towns its size
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rivière-Beaudette Quebec | 2,806 | 39.2 | 61.7 | A |
| 2 | Saint-Charles-de-Bellechasse Quebec | 2,739 | 39.7 | 73 | A |
| 3 | Eastman Quebec | 2,706 | 39.9 | 58.3 | A− |
| 4 | Turner Valley Alberta | 2,784 | 40.9 | 34.4 | A− |
| 5 | Electoral Area I, Central Kootenay British Columbia | 2,758 | 42.4 | 50.5 | A− |
| 6 | Yamachiche Quebec | 2,801 | 44.3 | 60.8 | A− |
| 7 | Vernon River Prince Edward Island | 2,779 | 46.6 | 50.7 | A− |
| 8 | Maria Quebec | 2,770 | 47.7 | 75.4 | B+ |
| … | |||||
| 18 | Cultus Lake British Columbia | 2,773 | 71.6 | 60.2 | C+ |
| … | |||||
| 28 | Electoral Area H, Cowichan Valley British Columbia | 2,761 | 87 | 109.6 | C |
| … | |||||
| 30 | Highlands British Columbia | 2,753 | 92.7 | 168.2 | C |
| … | |||||
| 35 | Tofino British Columbia | 2,772 | 117.4 | 205.8 | C− |
| … | |||||
| 40 | Kuujjuaq Quebec | 2,766 | 805.8 | 2,056.5 | 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 I, Central Kootenay in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
The detachment closest to Electoral Area I, Central Kootenay, 6,750 residents, recorded about 74 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 120 a year and other violations 87 (2023–2025 average). Of 1,000 dots, one per resident, the coloured ones are a year’s incidents at these rates.
Electoral Area I, Central Kootenay, year by year
Crime Severity Index
2025, the last year shown, came out highest at 43.4, and 2023 lowest at 41.4. The typical Canadian town its size went from 74.3 in 2023 to 64.2 in 2025.
Every year as a table
| Year | Electoral Area I, Central Kootenay | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 43.4 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 42.3 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 41.4 | 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 I, Central Kootenay, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Crime in the places around Electoral Area I, Central Kootenay
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electoral Area I, Central Kootenay | 2,758 | 42.4 | 50.5 | A− |
| Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay | 3,915 | 42.4 | 50.5 | A− |
| Castlegar | 9,465 | 107.5 | 94.1 | C− |
Same police, same number: one neighbour drops out of the comparison for that reason.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Solved cases. A crime is cleared when police lay or recommend a charge, or solve it another way; the weighted rate counts serious crimes for more.
- How serious, not how safe. 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.
- Reading the number. Figures are relative to one fixed point, Canada in 2006 at 100, rather than to this year’s national number.
Questions about safety in Electoral Area I, Central Kootenay
Is Electoral Area I, Central Kootenay safe?
The short answer is an index of 42.4 for Electoral Area I, Central Kootenay (2023–2025), built from 10.9 violent incidents and 17.3 property crimes a year for every 1,000 residents. In the middle of Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people the figure is 68.5.
What is the most common crime in Electoral Area I, Central Kootenay?
Most often it is mischief: 7.4 per 1,000 residents a year. Next come Criminal Code traffic offences at 6.5 and other Criminal Code offences at 5.2.
Is crime going up in Electoral Area I, Central Kootenay?
Hardly at all, from 41.4 in 2023 to 43.4 in 2025.
How much of Electoral Area I, Central Kootenay’s crime do police solve?
Police solve 44% of violent crime and 26% of everything else, 33% overall once each crime is weighted by seriousness, against 34% for the typical Canadian town its size.
Whose figures are these?
A shared service or detachment’s, reported as one for Electoral Area I, Central Kootenay and everywhere else it polices.
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).