Photo: James Abbott from New Westminster, B.C., Canada · CC BY-SA 2.0More crimes per resident are recorded in Cowichan Bay than in 89% of Canadian towns
3 of the 4 towns next door with figures record less crime per resident. Split in two, the index gives 149.7 for violence and 125.7 for everything else (normally 85.7 and 62.8). Graded on crime the police covering Cowichan Bay reported from 2023 to 2025, it scores D for safety: #221 of 251 in British Columbia. Violence and property crime split as 35.1 violent incidents and 81.7 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents a year, beside 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. Data for crime severity, crime rate and incident counts covers the Duncan detachment area.
What stands out about safety in Cowichan Bay
Mischief: high for a town its size
Cowichan Bay records 26.8 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 ↓
Higher than most of British Columbia
Set among British Columbia’s towns, whose median is 83.2, Cowichan Bay scores 131.7. Towns its size ↓
A higher index than most towns its size
Counting up from the lowest index, Cowichan Bay is 38th of the 40 Canadian towns closest in population. Towns its size ↓
Lighter than in 2023
In 2023 the index in Cowichan Bay stood at 145.9, by 2025 at 118.2. Over the same years the typical Canadian town its size went from 74.3 to 64.2. Year by year ↓
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 Cowichan Bay’s grade
How sure: Less sure than most: the grade leans on the closest detachment, 8 km from Cowichan Bay, since none reports under the town’s name.
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: #221 of 251 in British Columbia and #2,444 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.
Cowichan Bay’s crime by kind
Against the typical town its size, Cowichan Bay runs highest on mischief (26.8 per 1,000 against 4.9), assault (21.9 per 1,000 against 6.7) and theft under $5,000 (38.4 per 1,000 against 14.2). Motor vehicle theft sits below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0 | 0 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 7.3 | 0.7 | 73% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 9.3 | 0.8 | 100% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 2.3 | 0.2 | — |
| Robbery | 5.3 | 0.5 | 32% |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 2.7 | 0.2 | — |
| Other violent violations | 1.7 | 0.2 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 43 | 3.9 | 15% |
| Possession of stolen property | 16.7 | 1.5 | 16% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 22.3 | 2 | 15% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 10 | 0.9 | 7% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 425.7 | 38.4 | 25% |
| Mischief | 297.3 | 26.8 | 37% |
| Weapons violations | 10.3 | 0.9 | 65% |
| Administration of justice violations | 92 | 8.3 | 66% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 26.3 | 2.4 | 61% |
| Drug violations | 20.7 | 1.9 | 53% |
| Impaired driving | 89.7 | 8.1 | 48% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 0 | 0 | — |
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, Cowichan Bay stands 38th of 40 towns its size
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Powassan Ontario | 3,657 | 15 | 22.5 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 8 | Pemberton British Columbia | 3,620 | 53 | 61.7 | B+ |
| … | |||||
| 12 | Electoral Area C, Nanaimo British Columbia | 3,733 | 58.9 | 58.4 | B− |
| 13 | Electoral Area A, Columbia-Shuswap British Columbia | 3,672 | 65.5 | 44.5 | B− |
| … | |||||
| 15 | Electoral Area C, Fraser-Fort George British Columbia | 3,811 | 67.3 | 98.3 | B− |
| … | |||||
| 35 | Two Hills County No. 21 Alberta | 3,626 | 119.1 | 74.4 | C− |
| 36 | Alnwick New Brunswick | 3,767 | 124.8 | 183 | D |
| 37 | Electoral Area F, Bulkley-Nechako British Columbia | 3,643 | 126.5 | 178.5 | D |
| 38 | Cowichan Bay British Columbia | 3,713 | 131.7 | 149.7 | D |
| 39 | Prince Albert No. 461 Saskatchewan | 3,589 | 332.1 | 425.8 | D− |
| 40 | Opportunity No. 17 Alberta | 3,592 | 495.1 | 602.4 | 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 Cowichan Bay in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
From 2023 to 2025, Cowichan Bay’s index dropped 19%
Crime Severity Index
The index started at its highest, 145.9 in 2023, and touched its lowest in 2025, at 118.2. 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 | Cowichan Bay | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 118.2 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 131.1 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 145.9 | 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 Cowichan Bay, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Around 390 violent incidents a year at the detachment nearest Cowichan Bay (11,100 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 910 property crimes, plus 380 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 Cowichan Bay
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cowichan Bay | 3,713 | 131.7 | 149.7 | D |
| Cobble Hill | 5,074 | 49.9 | 52.5 | B+ |
| Cowichan | 2,509 | — | — | — |
| Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley | 4,482 | 131.7 | 149.7 | D |
| Duncan | 5,745 | 384.5 | 331.1 | D− |
| Shawnigan | 9,903 | 49.9 | 52.5 | B+ |
| North Cowichan | 34,525 | 99 | 124 | C− |
Nearby, 3 of 4 places with their own figures have a lower index than Cowichan Bay. The nearest of them, Cobble Hill (5.6 km away), scores 49.9 against 131.7. The comparison skips one neighbour reported under the same police.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
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. 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.”
- 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 Cowichan Bay
Is Cowichan Bay safe?
Statistics Canada puts Cowichan Bay at 131.7 on its Crime Severity Index over 2023–2025; Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people sit at 68.5 in the middle. Violent incidents run at 35.1 and property crimes at 81.7 per 1,000 residents a year.
What is the most common crime in Cowichan Bay?
Theft under $5,000 is the most common, at 38.4 per 1,000 residents a year, then mischief (26.8) and other Criminal Code offences (23.1).
Is crime going up in Cowichan Bay?
No: the index fell 19%, from 145.9 in 2023 to 118.2 in 2025.
How much of Cowichan Bay’s crime do police solve?
The weighted clearance rate is 34%: 51% for violent crime and 26% for non-violent. For the typical Canadian town its size it is 34%.
Whose figures are these?
A shared service or detachment’s, reported as one for Cowichan Bay 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).