Photo: Adam Jones from Kelowna, BC, Canada · CC BY-SA 2.0Central Okanagan has more crime per resident than four in five Canadian towns
Its letter for safety is C−, worked out from crime the police covering Central Okanagan reported over 2023 to 2025: #202 of 251 in British Columbia. Police cleared 28% of incidents, weighted by seriousness, against 34% for the typical Canadian town its size. Per 1,000 residents a year, 18.4 violent incidents and 64.3 incidents of property crime were recorded, against 12.9 and 31.2 in the typical town its size. Of the two halves, violence comes to 102.5 and other offences to 109.3, beside norms 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. The crime severity, crime rate and incident counts numbers here cover the Kelowna detachment area.
What stands out about safety in Central Okanagan
Drug offences: high for a town its size
Central Okanagan records 3 incidents of drug offences per 1,000 residents a year, against 0.7 in the typical town among Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people. By type ↓
A higher index than most towns its size
Set among the 40 Canadian towns closest to it in population, Central Okanagan comes 35th, counting from the lowest Crime Severity Index. Towns its size ↓
Higher than most of British Columbia
The typical British Columbia town scores 83.2; Central Okanagan, 106.7. Towns its size ↓
The non-violent half stands out
Central Okanagan scores 102.5 for violence and 109.3 for other crime; the typical Canadian town its size scores 85.7 and 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.
What’s behind Central Okanagan’s grade
How sure: Not as firm as most grades. Its figures come from the nearest detachment, 11 km off, which covers its own area rather than Central Okanagan.
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, type by type
Against the typical town its size, Central Okanagan 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 places 35th
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grand Valley Ontario | 4,759 | 26.4 | 20.7 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 9 | Electoral Area D, Columbia-Shuswap British Columbia | 4,829 | 45 | 53.2 | A− |
| … | |||||
| 13 | Electoral Area H, Nanaimo British Columbia | 4,815 | 48.6 | 69.1 | B+ |
| 14 | Cumberland British Columbia | 4,974 | 49.5 | 61.5 | B+ |
| … | |||||
| 22 | Electoral Area B, Nanaimo British Columbia | 4,702 | 58.9 | 58.4 | B− |
| … | |||||
| 32 | Barrhead Alberta | 4,768 | 81.9 | 73.6 | C |
| 33 | Cumberland County, Subdivision D Nova Scotia | 4,692 | 93.1 | 86.7 | C− |
| 34 | Kindersley Saskatchewan | 4,740 | 95.9 | 83.7 | C− |
| 35 | Central Okanagan British Columbia | 4,784 | 106.7 | 102.5 | C− |
| 36 | Cardston County Alberta | 4,938 | 108 | 123.7 | C− |
| 37 | Woodlands County Alberta | 4,778 | 120.9 | 106.4 | D |
| 38 | St. Stephen New Brunswick | 4,876 | 143.6 | 115 | D |
| … | |||||
| 40 | Battleford Saskatchewan | 4,657 | 349.1 | 479.8 | 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 in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
In Central Okanagan, up 10% between 2023 and 2025
Crime Severity Index
The middle year, 2024, was the heaviest at 110; 2023 was lightest, at 100.2. 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 | Central Okanagan | 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, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Around 360 violent incidents a year at the detachment nearest Central Okanagan (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.
And about 1,270 property crimes, plus 440 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 Central Okanagan
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Okanagan | 4,784 | 106.7 | 102.5 | C− |
| Kelowna | 167,654 | 125.5 | 119.7 | D |
| Duck Lake 7 | 2,091 | — | — | — |
| Lake Country | 17,637 | 67.1 | 59.9 | B− |
| Tsinstikeptum 10 | 2,081 | — | — | — |
1 of the 2 neighbours with their own figures score lower than Central Okanagan. The nearest of them, Lake Country (13.9 km away), scores 67.1 against 106.7.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Cleared, not convicted. A crime is cleared when police lay or recommend a charge, or solve it another way; the weighted rate counts serious crimes for more.
- What the index measures. Police-reported incidents, each multiplied by a weight drawn from court sentences, summed and divided by the population: that is the index, and its makers attach a caution, “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.”
- 100 is Canada in 2006. Statistics Canada set the national index at 100 for 2006; every figure here is read against that.
Questions about safety in Central Okanagan
Is Central Okanagan safe?
Averaged over 2023–2025, the Crime Severity Index for Central Okanagan comes to 106.7. Per 1,000 residents a year, police logged 18.4 violent incidents and 64.3 property crimes. The middle of Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people is 68.5.
What is the most common crime in Central Okanagan?
Police record theft under $5,000 most, 37.7 per 1,000 residents a year, ahead of other Criminal Code offences (12.2) and fraud (8.9).
Is crime going up in Central Okanagan?
It has: 100.2 in 2023 became 109.8 by 2025, a rise of 10%.
How much of Central Okanagan’s crime do police solve?
The weighted clearance rate is 28%: 34% for violent crime and 26% for non-violent. For the typical Canadian town its size it is 34%.
Whose figures are these?
A police service or detachment that covers Central Okanagan 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).