Photo: Ruth Hartnup from Vancouver, Canada · CC BY 2.0Cumberland has less crime per resident than 69% of Canadian towns
Violence accounts for an index of 61.5 and other offences for 45.1, against usual levels of 85.7 and 62.8. Its letter for safety is B+, worked out from crime the police covering Cumberland reported over 2023 to 2025: #32 of 251 in British Columbia. What’s more, each year brought 11.9 violent incidents and 18.5 incidents of property crime for every 1,000 residents (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. Crime severity, crime rate and incident counts published for the Comox Valley detachment area, not by town.
What stands out about safety in Cumberland
Lower than most of British Columbia
Cumberland’s index of 49.5 compares with 83.2 for the typical town in British Columbia. Towns its size ↓
A lower index than most towns its size
Of the 40 Canadian towns nearest it in size, Cumberland places 8th from the lowest index. 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.
What sits behind Cumberland’s B+
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: #32 of 251 in British Columbia and #521 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.
Cumberland’s crime by kind
Against the typical town its size, Cumberland runs highest on mischief (6.8 per 1,000 against 4.9). Break and enter and theft under $5,000 sit below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0.7 | 0.02 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 4.7 | 0.2 | — |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 3.7 | 0.1 | — |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 0.3 | 0.01 | — |
| Robbery | 2.7 | 0.09 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 1 | 0.03 | — |
| Other violent violations | 4 | 0.1 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 55.7 | 1.8 | 20% |
| Possession of stolen property | 7 | 0.2 | 39% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 27 | 0.9 | 20% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 12 | 0.4 | 11% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 148 | 4.7 | 8% |
| Mischief | 213.3 | 6.8 | 20% |
| Weapons violations | 15.3 | 0.5 | 74% |
| Administration of justice violations | 71.7 | 2.3 | 75% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 31 | 1 | 35% |
| Drug violations | 15.3 | 0.5 | 65% |
| Impaired driving | 129.3 | 4.1 | 71% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 3.7 | 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.
Cumberland comes 8th of the 40 towns nearest in size
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Northern Bruce Peninsula Ontario | 5,018 | 29.3 | 46.7 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 4 | Electoral Area D, Columbia-Shuswap British Columbia | 4,829 | 45 | 53.2 | A− |
| 5 | Roxton Pond Quebec | 4,884 | 45.3 | 73.7 | A− |
| 6 | Centre Hastings Ontario | 5,170 | 46.8 | 68 | B+ |
| 7 | Electoral Area H, Nanaimo British Columbia | 4,815 | 48.6 | 69.1 | B+ |
| 8 | Cumberland British Columbia | 4,974 | 49.5 | 61.5 | B+ |
| 9 | Electoral Area A, Cowichan Valley British Columbia | 5,156 | 49.9 | 52.5 | B+ |
| 10 | Cobble Hill British Columbia | 5,074 | 49.9 | 52.5 | B+ |
| 11 | Electoral Area F, Cariboo British Columbia | 5,016 | 51.7 | 55.1 | B+ |
| … | |||||
| 19 | Electoral Area C, North Okanagan British Columbia | 5,029 | 61.3 | 74.1 | B− |
| 20 | Electoral Area F, North Okanagan British Columbia | 4,969 | 62.6 | 70.8 | B− |
| … | |||||
| 22 | Electoral Area D, Fraser-Fort George British Columbia | 4,802 | 67.3 | 98.3 | B− |
| … | |||||
| 40 | Nipawin Saskatchewan | 5,033 | 182.3 | 163.9 | 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 Cumberland in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
About 370 violent incidents a year across the police area of 31,400 residents that includes Cumberland, 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 580 property crimes and 460 other violations a year (2023–2025 average). The grid is 1,000 residents, a coloured dot for each incident a year at these rates.
Cumberland’s index held steady from 2023 to 2025
Crime Severity Index
Its highest year was 2023, at 50.4, and its lowest 2024, at 48.1. The typical Canadian town its size went from 74.3 in 2023 to 64.2 in 2025.
Every year as a table
| Year | Cumberland | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 50 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 48.1 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 50.4 | 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 Cumberland, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Crime in the places around Cumberland
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cumberland | 4,974 | 49.5 | 61.5 | B+ |
| Courtenay | 32,869 | 131.2 | 129 | D |
| Comox | 15,884 | 40.6 | 39.2 | A− |
| Electoral Area A, Comox Valley | 8,415 | 49.5 | 61.5 | B+ |
| Electoral Area B (Lazo North), Comox Valley | 7,830 | 49.5 | 61.5 | B+ |
| Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley | 9,803 | 49.5 | 61.5 | B+ |
Nearby, 1 of 2 places with their own figures have a lower index than Cumberland. Closest is Comox, 10.1 km away, at 40.6 to 49.5 here. 3 neighbours are on the same police service or detachment: they share the figure and aren’t compared here.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- An index, not a verdict. Each incident counts by its seriousness, judged from court sentences, and the total is set per resident. As Statistics Canada puts it, “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.”
- Shared with the countryside. An RCMP or OPP detachment reports one set of figures for everywhere it polices, so Cumberland’s are shared with its surroundings.
- The index’s scale. Figures are relative to one fixed point, Canada in 2006 at 100, rather than to this year’s national number.
- What clearance means. Cleared means solved by police, charged or not; it says nothing about what courts decide.
Questions about safety in Cumberland
Is Cumberland safe?
On Statistics Canada’s figures, Cumberland scores 49.5 on the Crime Severity Index for 2023–2025, with 11.9 violent and 18.5 property incidents per 1,000 residents a year. Set that beside 68.5, the median for Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is the most common crime in Cumberland?
Police record other Criminal Code offences most, 8.5 per 1,000 residents a year, ahead of mischief (6.8) and assault (5).
Is crime going up in Cumberland?
The index stayed close to where it was, 50.4 in 2023 and 50 in 2025.
How much of Cumberland’s crime do police solve?
34%, by the weighted clearance rate, where the typical Canadian town its size manages 34%. Violent crime is cleared at 48% and non-violent crime at 26%.
Whose figures are these?
A police service or detachment that covers Cumberland 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).