Photo: U.S. Coast Guard · Public domainPer resident, Comox records less crime than 84% of Canadian towns
Each of the 5 towns on its borders with figures records more crime per resident. On top of that, the grade is A−, built on crime the police covering Comox reported from 2023 to 2025: #14 of 251 in British Columbia. Violence accounts for an index of 39.2 and other offences for 41.5, against usual levels of 89.4 and 56. In a usual year, 8.4 violent incidents and 20.8 incidents of property crime are logged per 1,000 inhabitants; in the typical town its size, 12.0 and 30.5.
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.
What stands out about safety in Comox
Lower than most of British Columbia
The typical British Columbia town scores 83.2; Comox, 40.6. Towns its size ↓
Lighter than in 2023
Between 2023 and 2025, Comox moved from 46.8 to 36.8, while the typical Canadian town its size went from 69.5 to 60. Year by year ↓
Lower than many towns its size
Set among the 40 Canadian towns closest to it in population, Comox comes 11th, counting from the lowest Crime Severity Index. Towns its size ↓
Mischief: high for a town its size
Comox records 8 incidents of mischief per 1,000 residents a year, against 3.7 in the typical town among Canadian towns of 10,000 to 50,000 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.
Comox: A− for safety, and why
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: #14 of 251 in British Columbia and #306 of 2,572 Canadian towns.
The Crime Severity Index and its two halves, beside the typical figure for Canadian towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people.
Year by year in Comox: down 21%, 2023 to 2025
Crime Severity Index
From 46.8 in 2023, its first and heaviest year, it eased to a low of 36.8 in 2025. Set beside it, the typical Canadian town its size went from 69.5 in 2023 to 60 in 2025.
Every year as a table
| Year | Comox | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 36.8 | 60 |
| 2024 | 38.3 | 67.9 |
| 2023 | 46.8 | 69.5 |
Statistics Canada, Crime Severity Index by police service, each year as published. Typical: the median of Canadian towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people.
The Crime Severity Index of the police covering Comox, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Which crimes make up Comox’s figures
Against the typical town its size, Comox runs highest on mischief (8 per 1,000 against 3.7). Assault and break and enter sit below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0 | 0 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 4 | 0.3 | — |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 0.7 | 0.04 | — |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 0 | 0 | — |
| Robbery | 1.7 | 0.1 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 0.3 | 0.02 | — |
| Other violent violations | 2.7 | 0.2 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 15.7 | 1 | 11% |
| Possession of stolen property | 1 | 0.06 | — |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 6.7 | 0.4 | 40% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 3.3 | 0.2 | — |
| Theft under $5,000 | 119 | 7.5 | 6% |
| Mischief | 126.7 | 8 | 20% |
| Weapons violations | 1.3 | 0.09 | — |
| Administration of justice violations | 20.7 | 1.3 | 71% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 9.7 | 0.6 | 34% |
| Drug violations | 9 | 0.6 | 41% |
| Impaired driving | 39.3 | 2.5 | 73% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 0.3 | 0.02 | — |
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 10,000 to 50,000 people.
Comox is 11th of 40 towns its size, lowest index first
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dorchester Ontario | 15,475 | 28.2 | 19.4 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 8 | Campbellford Ontario | 15,103 | 37 | 48.3 | A |
| 9 | Saint-Basile-le-Grand Quebec | 17,146 | 37.1 | 58.5 | A |
| 10 | Pincourt Quebec | 15,220 | 39.2 | 61.7 | A |
| 11 | Comox British Columbia | 15,884 | 40.6 | 39.2 | A− |
| 12 | Severn Ontario | 15,716 | 41.7 | 48.8 | A− |
| 13 | Winkler Manitoba | 16,156 | 45.7 | 56.3 | A− |
| 14 | Bécancour Quebec | 14,943 | 46.5 | 64.3 | A− |
| … | |||||
| 31 | Whistler British Columbia | 15,090 | 83.8 | 82.3 | C |
| … | |||||
| 34 | Parksville British Columbia | 15,371 | 107.4 | 88.3 | C− |
| … | |||||
| 36 | Powell River British Columbia | 14,947 | 113.5 | 99.4 | C− |
| … | |||||
| 40 | North Battleford Saskatchewan | 14,882 | 528.4 | 591.9 | 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 Comox in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Comox’s police: about 130 violent incidents a year over 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 330 property crimes and 160 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 Comox
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Comox | 15,884 | 40.6 | 39.2 | A− |
| Courtenay | 32,869 | 131.2 | 129 | D |
| Electoral Area B (Lazo North), Comox Valley | 7,830 | 49.5 | 61.5 | B+ |
| Cumberland | 4,974 | 49.5 | 61.5 | B+ |
| Electoral Area A, Comox Valley | 8,415 | 49.5 | 61.5 | B+ |
| Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley | 9,803 | 49.5 | 61.5 | B+ |
Each neighbour with its own figure comes in over Comox.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What 100 means. Canada’s own index has been below its 2006 base of 100 for years, so 100 marks a fixed reference, not today’s national average.
- The clearance rate. Weighted like the index, so solving one assault counts for more than solving a mischief; a charge laid, recommended or otherwise resolved all count.
- Severity, weighed. Statistics Canada builds the index from every crime police record, weighted by how seriously the courts treat it, and divides by the population. It adds a warning of its own: “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.”
Questions about safety in Comox
Is Comox safe?
Against a typical 66 for Canadian towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, Comox’s Crime Severity Index stands at 40.6 for 2023–2025. Its police record 8.4 violent incidents and 20.8 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year.
What is the most common crime in Comox?
Mischief is the most common, at 8 per 1,000 residents a year, then theft under $5,000 (7.5) and other Criminal Code offences (6.5).
Is crime going up in Comox?
No: the index fell 21%, from 46.8 in 2023 to 36.8 in 2025.
How much of Comox’s crime do police solve?
Police cleared 23% of crime once each incident is weighted by seriousness: 39% of violent crime and 17% of the rest, against 33% for the typical Canadian town its size.
Whose figures are these?
A police service or contract that serves Comox alone, so the figures are the town’s.
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).