Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainPer resident, Electoral Area H, Cowichan Valley records more crime than 72% of Canadian towns
Each year brought 21.9 violent incidents and 40.3 incidents of property crime for every 1,000 residents (12.9 and 31.2 in the typical town its size). The grade is C, built on crime the police covering Electoral Area H, Cowichan Valley reported from 2023 to 2025: #127 of 251 in British Columbia. Against usual levels of 85.7 and 62.8, violent and non-violent offences here reach 109.6 and 78.8. Both towns next door with figures record less crime per resident.
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. Source area for crime severity, crime rate and incident counts: the Ladysmith detachment area.
What stands out about safety in Electoral Area H, Cowichan Valley
Mischief: high for a town its size
Electoral Area H, Cowichan Valley records 17.4 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 many towns its size
Of the 40 Canadian towns nearest it in size, Electoral Area H, Cowichan Valley places 28th from the lowest index. Towns its size ↓
Close to British Columbia’s typical town
Electoral Area H, Cowichan Valley’s index of 87 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.
Inside Electoral Area H, Cowichan Valley’s C for safety
How sure: Less sure, as Electoral Area H, Cowichan Valley has no detachment of its own in Statistics Canada’s tables and is graded on the closest one’s figures, 5 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: #127 of 251 in British Columbia and #1,785 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.
What police record in Electoral Area H, Cowichan Valley, by type
Against the typical town its size, Electoral Area H, Cowichan Valley runs highest on mischief (17.4 per 1,000 against 4.9), assault (10.3 per 1,000 against 6.7) and break and enter (3.3 per 1,000 against 2.8). Theft under $5,000 sits below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0 | 0 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 8 | 1.2 | 38% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 1.7 | 0.2 | — |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 1.3 | 0.2 | — |
| Robbery | 0 | 0 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 1.7 | 0.2 | — |
| Other violent violations | 1.3 | 0.2 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 22.3 | 3.3 | 19% |
| Possession of stolen property | 8.7 | 1.3 | 34% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 19.7 | 2.9 | 5% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 4.7 | 0.7 | — |
| Theft under $5,000 | 63.3 | 9.4 | 9% |
| Mischief | 117.3 | 17.4 | 29% |
| Weapons violations | 5 | 0.7 | 54% |
| Administration of justice violations | 33.7 | 5 | 65% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 16 | 2.4 | 44% |
| Drug violations | 3.7 | 0.5 | — |
| Impaired driving | 30.7 | 4.5 | 77% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 1 | 0.1 | — |
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.
Electoral Area H, Cowichan Valley’s index fell 13% from 2023 to 2025
Crime Severity Index
Nothing since 2023 has matched that year’s 91.2; the lightest was 2025, at 79.8. 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 | Electoral Area H, Cowichan Valley | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 79.8 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 90.1 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 91.2 | 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 Electoral Area H, Cowichan Valley, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Electoral Area H, Cowichan Valley comes 28th of the 40 towns nearest in size
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rivière-Beaudette Quebec | 2,806 | 39.2 | 61.7 | A |
| … | |||||
| 5 | Electoral Area I, Central Kootenay British Columbia | 2,758 | 42.4 | 50.5 | A− |
| … | |||||
| 18 | Cultus Lake British Columbia | 2,773 | 71.6 | 60.2 | C+ |
| … | |||||
| 25 | Little Current Ontario | 2,764 | 81.9 | 109 | C |
| 26 | Victoria County, Subdivision A Nova Scotia | 2,746 | 82.8 | 120.7 | C |
| 27 | Sussex New Brunswick | 2,742 | 86 | 92.8 | C |
| 28 | Electoral Area H, Cowichan Valley British Columbia | 2,761 | 87 | 109.6 | C |
| 29 | Holyrood Newfoundland and Labrador | 2,749 | 90.3 | 68.4 | C |
| 30 | Highlands British Columbia | 2,753 | 92.7 | 168.2 | C |
| 31 | Grimshaw Alberta | 2,799 | 96 | 62 | C− |
| … | |||||
| 35 | Tofino British Columbia | 2,772 | 117.4 | 205.8 | C− |
| 36 | Electoral Area E, Peace River British Columbia | 2,737 | 139.5 | 210.6 | D |
| … | |||||
| 40 | Kuujjuaq Quebec | 2,766 | 805.8 | 2,056.5 | 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 H, Cowichan Valley in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Around 150 violent incidents a year at the detachment nearest Electoral Area H, Cowichan Valley (6,780 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 270 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 Electoral Area H, Cowichan Valley
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electoral Area H, Cowichan Valley | 2,761 | 87 | 109.6 | C |
| Ladysmith | 9,926 | 77.3 | 70.2 | C+ |
| Electoral Area A, Nanaimo | 7,825 | 87 | 109.6 | C |
| Electoral Area G, Cowichan Valley | 2,597 | 87 | 109.6 | C |
| Electoral Area B, Nanaimo | 4,702 | 58.9 | 58.4 | B− |
Each neighbour with its own figure comes in under Electoral Area H, Cowichan Valley. Ladysmith, 4.2 km away, is the nearest lower one, at 77.3 to 87. Its police also cover 2 neighbouring places, which carry the same index and are left out above.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Reading the number. Its scale starts from Canada in 2006, set at 100, so a figure above 100 means more serious crime per resident than the country had then.
- Solved cases. Weighted like the index, so solving one assault counts for more than solving a mischief; a charge laid, recommended or otherwise resolved all count.
- How serious, not how safe. The Crime Severity Index adds up police-reported crime, each kind weighted by the sentences courts give it, so one robbery counts for more than many thefts. In Statistics Canada’s words, “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.”
Questions about safety in Electoral Area H, Cowichan Valley
Is Electoral Area H, Cowichan Valley safe?
Averaged over 2023–2025, the Crime Severity Index for Electoral Area H, Cowichan Valley comes to 87. Per 1,000 residents a year, police logged 21.9 violent incidents and 40.3 property crimes. The middle of Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people is 68.5.
What is the most common crime in Electoral Area H, Cowichan Valley?
Police record mischief most, 17.4 per 1,000 residents a year, ahead of other Criminal Code offences (13.9) and assault (10.3).
Is crime going up in Electoral Area H, Cowichan Valley?
The reverse: 91.2 in 2023 came down to 79.8 by 2025, 13% lower.
How much of Electoral Area H, 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 24% of non-violent crime.
Whose figures are these?
A shared service or detachment’s, reported as one for Electoral Area H, Cowichan Valley 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).