Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainMore crimes per resident are recorded in Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley than in 89% of Canadian towns
Next door, 3 of 4 towns with figures record less crime per resident. Measured on crime the police covering Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley reported between 2023 and 2025, it earns a Safety Grade of D: #221 of 251 in British Columbia. Recorded violent incidents ran at 35.1 per 1,000 residents a year and property crime at 81.7, against 12.9 and 31.2 in the typical town its size. Its violent half comes to 149.7 and its non-violent half to 125.7, where the norm is 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. Area-wide: crime severity, crime rate and incident counts, counted over the Duncan detachment area.
What stands out about safety in Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley
Mischief: high for a town its size
Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley 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
Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley’s index of 131.7 compares with 83.2 for the typical town in British Columbia. Towns its size ↓
A higher index than most towns its size
Of the 40 Canadian towns nearest it in size, Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley places 37th from the lowest index. Towns its size ↓
Down since 2023
From 145.9 in 2023 to 118.2 in 2025: that is Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley’s index, against 74.3 and 64.2 for the typical Canadian town its size. 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.
The D for Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley, and how it is built
How sure: Less sure, as Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley 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: #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.
Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley’s crime by kind
Against the typical town its size, Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley 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.
Among 40 towns its size, Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley places 37th
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bowen Island British Columbia | 4,501 | 24.4 | 16.3 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 5 | Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay British Columbia | 4,309 | 35.8 | 32 | A |
| … | |||||
| 22 | Rossland British Columbia | 4,355 | 63.8 | 58.3 | B− |
| … | |||||
| 24 | Golden British Columbia | 4,433 | 65.5 | 44.5 | B− |
| … | |||||
| 34 | Prescott Ontario | 4,342 | 111.5 | 167.1 | C− |
| 35 | Bancroft Ontario | 4,331 | 121.5 | 153.2 | D |
| 36 | Vanderhoof British Columbia | 4,545 | 126.5 | 178.5 | D |
| 37 | Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley British Columbia | 4,482 | 131.7 | 149.7 | D |
| 38 | Electoral Area D (Oyster Bay - Buttle Lake), Strathcona British Columbia | 4,546 | 166.3 | 162.8 | D |
| 39 | Geraldton Ontario | 4,398 | 198.8 | 261.9 | D |
| 40 | High Level Alberta | 4,390 | 324 | 498.7 | 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 E, Cowichan Valley in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley’s index fell 19% from 2023 to 2025
Crime Severity Index
Its heaviest year came first: 2023, at 145.9, against a low of 118.2 in 2025. 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 E, Cowichan Valley | 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 Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
About 390 violent incidents a year in the area of the detachment nearest Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley (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.
Add about 910 property crimes and 380 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 Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley | 4,482 | 131.7 | 149.7 | D |
| Cowichan | 2,509 | — | — | — |
| Duncan | 5,745 | 384.5 | 331.1 | D− |
| North Cowichan | 34,525 | 99 | 124 | C− |
| Cowichan Bay | 3,713 | 131.7 | 149.7 | D |
| Cobble Hill | 5,074 | 49.9 | 52.5 | B+ |
| Shawnigan | 9,903 | 49.9 | 52.5 | B+ |
Nearby, 3 of 4 places with their own figures have a lower index than Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley. North Cowichan, 5.1 km away, is the nearest lower one, at 99 to 131.7. One neighbour reports through the same police, so its figure is this one and it isn’t compared.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Reading the number. Figures are relative to one fixed point, Canada in 2006 at 100, rather than to this year’s national number.
- Solved cases. A crime is cleared when police lay or recommend a charge, or solve it another way; the weighted rate counts serious crimes for more.
- How serious, not how safe. 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 Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley
Is Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley safe?
Against a typical 68.5 for Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley’s Crime Severity Index stands at 131.7 for 2023–2025. Its police record 35.1 violent incidents and 81.7 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year.
What is the most common crime in Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley?
The three biggest groups are theft under $5,000 at 38.4, mischief at 26.8 and other Criminal Code offences at 23.1, each per 1,000 residents a year.
Is crime going up in Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley?
Over 2023–2025 the index dropped 19%, to 118.2 from 145.9.
How much of Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley’s crime do police solve?
Counting serious crimes for more, 34% end in a charge or are otherwise solved (34% for the typical Canadian town its size); split up, that is 51% of violent and 26% of non-violent crime.
Whose figures are these?
A police service or detachment that covers Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley 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).