Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainMore crimes per resident are recorded in Central Okanagan West than in 80% of Canadian towns
Of the two halves, violence comes to 102.5 and other offences to 109.3, beside norms of 85.7 and 62.8. Its weighted clearance rate, the share of crime police solved, is 28% (the typical Canadian town its size: 34%). What’s more, from 2023 to 2025, crime the police covering Central Okanagan West reported put it at C− for safety: #202 of 251 in British Columbia. Year on year, 18.4 violent incidents and 64.3 incidents of property crime occur per 1,000 residents, compared with 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: one figure for all of the Kelowna detachment area.
What stands out about safety in Central Okanagan West
A busy place, counted per resident
Only year-round residents divide the crime in Central Okanagan West, yet 30% of its homes are seasonal or empty: the rates run higher than the place feels to the people who live there. How to read it ↓
Theft under $5,000: high for a town its size
Central Okanagan West records 37.7 incidents of theft under $5,000 per 1,000 residents a year, against 14.2 in the typical town among Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people. By type ↓
Higher than many towns its size
Of the 40 Canadian towns nearest it in size, Central Okanagan West places 31st from the lowest index. Towns its size ↓
Higher than most of British Columbia
Central Okanagan West’s index of 106.7 compares with 83.2 for the typical town in British Columbia. Towns its size ↓
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 Central Okanagan West’s grade
How sure: Less sure, as Central Okanagan West has no detachment of its own in Statistics Canada’s tables and is graded on the closest one’s figures, 27 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: #202 of 251 in British Columbia and #1,949 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 Central Okanagan West, type by type
Against the typical town its size, Central Okanagan West runs highest on drug offences (3 per 1,000 against 0.7), theft under $5,000 (37.7 per 1,000 against 14.2) and fraud (8.9 per 1,000 against 4.9).
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0.3 | 0.02 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 5 | 0.3 | 54% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 7.3 | 0.4 | 96% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 2 | 0.1 | — |
| Robbery | 7.3 | 0.4 | 45% |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 2.3 | 0.1 | — |
| Other violent violations | 3 | 0.2 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 83.3 | 4.2 | 16% |
| Possession of stolen property | 15 | 0.8 | 31% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 57.3 | 2.9 | 6% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 17.7 | 0.9 | 11% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 741.7 | 37.7 | 36% |
| Mischief | 157 | 8 | 21% |
| Weapons violations | 12.3 | 0.6 | 51% |
| Administration of justice violations | 61.3 | 3.1 | 69% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 28.7 | 1.5 | 30% |
| Drug violations | 58.3 | 3 | 61% |
| Impaired driving | 44.7 | 2.3 | 86% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 19.7 | 1 | 19% |
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, Central Okanagan West places 31st
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saint-Gabriel-de-Valcartier Quebec | 3,400 | 28.2 | 46.7 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 15 | Enderby British Columbia | 3,292 | 62.6 | 70.8 | B− |
| … | |||||
| 23 | Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast British Columbia | 3,256 | 76.6 | 94 | C+ |
| … | |||||
| 27 | Electoral Area E (West Boundary), Kootenay Boundary British Columbia | 3,361 | 89.9 | 103.7 | C |
| 28 | Bonavista Newfoundland and Labrador | 3,293 | 92.8 | 63.2 | C |
| 29 | Annapolis County, Subdivision D Nova Scotia | 3,273 | 96 | 107.6 | C− |
| 30 | Virden Manitoba | 3,322 | 103.6 | 169 | C− |
| 31 | Central Okanagan West British Columbia | 3,298 | 106.7 | 102.5 | C− |
| 32 | Havre-Saint-Pierre Quebec | 3,389 | 110.6 | 223.3 | C− |
| 33 | Sainte-Clotilde Quebec | 3,297 | 116.5 | 80.3 | C− |
| 34 | Pictou Nova Scotia | 3,307 | 126.6 | 152.7 | D |
| … | |||||
| 40 | Inuvik Northwest Territories | 3,337 | 718.3 | 807.9 | 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 Central Okanagan West in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
In Central Okanagan West, up 10% between 2023 and 2025
Crime Severity Index
2024 stands out as the heaviest year at 110, with 2023 the lightest at 100.2. 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 | Central Okanagan West | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 109.8 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 110 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 100.2 | 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 Central Okanagan West, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
About 360 violent incidents a year in the area of the detachment nearest Central Okanagan West (19,200 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.
Add about 1,270 property crimes and 440 other violations a year (2023–2025 average). The grid is 1,000 residents, a coloured dot for each incident a year at these rates.
Crime in the places around Central Okanagan West
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Okanagan West | 3,298 | 106.7 | 102.5 | C− |
| Lake Country (11 km) | 17,637 | 67.1 | 59.9 | B− |
| Vernon (21 km) | 49,527 | 145.1 | 141.2 | D |
| Coldstream (23 km) | 11,380 | 45.1 | 61.9 | A− |
| Central Okanagan (25 km) | 4,784 | 106.7 | 102.5 | C− |
| Electoral Area C, North Okanagan (26 km) | 5,029 | 61.3 | 74.1 | B− |
3 of the 4 neighbours with their own figures score lower than Central Okanagan West. The nearest of them, Lake Country (11.4 km away), scores 67.1 against 106.7. Same police, same number: one neighbour drops out of the comparison for that reason.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means. The nearest places to Central Okanagan West with figures are 11–26 km away.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Cleared, not convicted. A cleared case is one police consider solved. Whether anyone is convicted is a separate matter the rate doesn’t follow.
- What the index measures. 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.”
- 100 is Canada in 2006. 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.
Questions about safety in Central Okanagan West
Is Central Okanagan West safe?
Central Okanagan West scores 106.7 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 18.4 violent incidents and 64.3 property crimes.
What is the most common crime in Central Okanagan West?
Theft under $5,000 is the most common, at 37.7 per 1,000 residents a year, then other Criminal Code offences (12.2) and fraud (8.9).
Is crime going up in Central Okanagan West?
It went up 10% between 2023 and 2025, from 100.2 to 109.8.
How much of Central Okanagan West’s crime do police solve?
28%, by the weighted clearance rate, where the typical Canadian town its size manages 34%. Violent crime is cleared at 34% and non-violent crime at 26%.
Whose figures are these?
A shared service or detachment’s, reported as one for Central Okanagan West 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).