Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainElectoral Area J, Central Kootenay records less crime per resident than 83% of Canadian towns
Its two neighbours with figures both record more crime per resident. Behind the grade sit 10.9 violent incidents and 17.3 incidents of property crime per 1,000 people a year, where the comparison is 12.9 and 31.2 in the typical town its size. Add to that, a Safety Grade of A− follows from crime the police covering Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay reported over the years 2023 to 2025: #18 of 251 in British Columbia. Against usual levels of 85.7 and 62.8, violent and non-violent offences here reach 50.5 and 39.5.
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 Castlegar detachment area: crime severity, crime rate and incident counts.
What stands out about safety in Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay
Below British Columbia’s typical town
Set among British Columbia’s towns, whose median is 83.2, Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay scores 42.4. Towns its size ↓
A lower index than most towns its size
Counting up from the lowest index, Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay is 6th of the 40 Canadian towns closest in population. Towns its size ↓
Mischief: high for a town its size
Electoral Area J, 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 J, Central Kootenay, and how it is built
How sure: Less sure, as Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay has no detachment of its own in Statistics Canada’s tables and is graded on the closest one’s figures, 4 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.
Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay’s crime by kind
Against the typical town its size, Electoral Area J, 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 J, Central Kootenay stands 6th of 40 towns its size
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mulmur Ontario | 3,813 | 24 | 17.5 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 3 | Forty Mile County No. 8 Alberta | 3,927 | 34.4 | 26.6 | A |
| 4 | Morris-Turnberry Ontario | 4,028 | 35 | 39.3 | A |
| 5 | Saint-Maurice Quebec | 3,804 | 39.2 | 52 | A |
| 6 | Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay British Columbia | 3,915 | 42.4 | 50.5 | A− |
| 7 | Georgian Bay Ontario | 3,798 | 43.4 | 53.1 | A− |
| 8 | L'Islet Quebec | 3,874 | 43.7 | 73 | A− |
| 9 | Cap-Santé Quebec | 3,885 | 44.5 | 72 | A− |
| … | |||||
| 18 | Electoral Area C, Fraser-Fort George British Columbia | 3,811 | 67.3 | 98.3 | B− |
| 19 | Electoral Area A, Fraser-Fort George British Columbia | 3,764 | 67.3 | 98.3 | B− |
| … | |||||
| 21 | Electoral Area F, East Kootenay British Columbia | 3,893 | 71.6 | 60.2 | C+ |
| 22 | Okanagan Falls British Columbia | 4,002 | 71.9 | 63.7 | C+ |
| … | |||||
| 40 | Swan River Manitoba | 4,048 | 435.7 | 403.3 | 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 J, Central Kootenay in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
The detachment closest to Electoral Area J, 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.
Add about 120 property crimes and 87 other violations a year (2023–2025 average). The grid is 1,000 residents, a coloured dot for each incident a year at these rates.
From 2023 to 2025, Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay’s index held steady
Crime Severity Index
Its index peaked most recently, in 2025 (43.4); 2023 was the low point, at 41.4. Set beside it, 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 J, 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 J, Central Kootenay, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Crime in the places around Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay | 3,915 | 42.4 | 50.5 | A− |
| Castlegar | 9,465 | 107.5 | 94.1 | C− |
| Electoral Area I, Central Kootenay | 2,758 | 42.4 | 50.5 | A− |
| Electoral Area B (Lower Columbia-Old-Glory), Kootenay Boundary | 1,432 | 63.8 | 58.3 | B− |
Each neighbour with its own figure comes in over Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay. One place nearby is policed together with it and reported as one, so there is nothing to compare.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What 100 means. The index is scaled so that Canada as a whole scored 100 in its base year, 2006: a town at 50 has half that severity per resident.
- The clearance rate. Cleared means solved by police, charged or not; it says nothing about what courts decide.
- Severity, weighed. The index weighs crimes rather than counting them: a serious offence moves it far more than a minor one. Statistics Canada is plain about its limits: “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.”
Questions about safety in Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay
Is Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay safe?
A Crime Severity Index of 42.4 (2023–2025), set beside a median of 68.5 for Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people: that is where Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay stands, with 10.9 violent and 17.3 property incidents per 1,000 residents a year.
What is the most common crime in Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay?
Mischief is the most common, at 7.4 per 1,000 residents a year, then Criminal Code traffic offences (6.5) and other Criminal Code offences (5.2).
Is crime going up in Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay?
Barely: 41.4 in 2023, 43.4 in 2025.
How much of Electoral Area J, 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 police service or detachment that covers Electoral Area J, 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).