Photo: maclean · Public domainDawson Creek records more crime per resident than 94% of Canadian towns
Violence accounts for an index of 300.4 and other offences for 180, against usual levels of 89.4 and 56. Recorded violent incidents ran at 32.3 per 1,000 residents a year and property crime at 75.2, against 12.0 and 30.5 in the typical town its size. Add to that, it grades D for safety on crime the police covering Dawson Creek reported from 2023 to 2025: #240 of 251 in British Columbia.
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 Dawson Creek
Mischief: high for a town its size
Dawson Creek records 25.8 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 ↓
Heavier than British Columbia’s middle
Within British Columbia, the median town comes to 83.2 on the index, against 213.1 in Dawson Creek. Towns its size ↓
A higher index than most towns its size
Line up the 40 Canadian towns nearest in size by their index and Dawson Creek stands 38th, the lowest first. Towns its size ↓
Down since 2023
Dawson Creek’s index went from 257.9 in 2023 to 215.2 in 2025; the typical Canadian town its size moved from 69.5 to 60. 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 sits behind Dawson Creek’s D
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: #240 of 251 in British Columbia and #2,507 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.
Dawson Creek’s crime by kind
Against the typical town its size, Dawson Creek runs highest on mischief (25.8 per 1,000 against 3.7), drug offences (2.6 per 1,000 against 0.8) and break and enter (6.4 per 1,000 against 2.2).
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 2.7 | 0.2 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 17 | 1.3 | 37% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 9.7 | 0.7 | 100% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 12 | 0.9 | 31% |
| Robbery | 11 | 0.8 | 66% |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 3.3 | 0.2 | — |
| Other violent violations | 3.7 | 0.3 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 86 | 6.4 | 24% |
| Possession of stolen property | 16 | 1.2 | 64% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 89 | 6.6 | 13% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 17 | 1.3 | 12% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 355 | 26.3 | 23% |
| Mischief | 348 | 25.8 | 26% |
| Weapons violations | 23.3 | 1.7 | 69% |
| Administration of justice violations | 316.3 | 23.4 | 93% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 23 | 1.7 | 64% |
| Drug violations | 35.3 | 2.6 | 53% |
| Impaired driving | 38 | 2.8 | 84% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 3.7 | 0.3 | — |
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.
By its index, Dawson Creek stands 38th of 40 towns its size
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tiny Ontario | 14,195 | 27.9 | 36.4 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 12 | North Saanich British Columbia | 12,986 | 37.5 | 32.9 | A |
| … | |||||
| 22 | View Royal British Columbia | 12,795 | 54.5 | 53.9 | B |
| … | |||||
| 25 | Sidney British Columbia | 13,445 | 68.4 | 72.4 | B− |
| … | |||||
| 34 | Terrace British Columbia | 13,648 | 174.6 | 155 | D |
| 35 | Prince Rupert British Columbia | 12,903 | 185.2 | 292.9 | D |
| 36 | Bonnyville No. 87 Alberta | 13,265 | 197.6 | 183.7 | D |
| 37 | Lloydminster (Part) Saskatchewan | 13,137 | 211.6 | 177.2 | D |
| 38 | Dawson Creek British Columbia | 13,635 | 213.1 | 300.4 | D |
| 39 | Wetaskiwin Alberta | 13,703 | 279.7 | 291.8 | D |
| 40 | Thompson Manitoba | 12,917 | 589.9 | 1,034.6 | 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 Dawson Creek in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Dawson Creek’s index fell 17% from 2023 to 2025
Crime Severity Index
Its highest year was 2023, at 257.9, and its lowest 2024, at 166.1. The typical Canadian town its size went from 69.5 in 2023 to 60 in 2025.
Every year as a table
| Year | Dawson Creek | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 215.2 | 60 |
| 2024 | 166.1 | 67.9 |
| 2023 | 257.9 | 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 Dawson Creek, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Dawson Creek’s police: about 440 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.
Property crime adds about 1,020 a year and other violations 690 (2023–2025 average). Of 1,000 dots, one per resident, the coloured ones are a year’s incidents at these rates.
Crime in the places around Dawson Creek
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dawson Creek | 13,635 | 213.1 | 300.4 | D |
| Electoral Area D, Peace River (8 km) | 5,100 | 107.6 | 157.4 | C− |
| Saddle Hills County (51 km) | 2,449 | 104.7 | 66.8 | C− |
| Taylor (53 km) | 1,415 | 81.8 | 82.5 | C |
| Fort St. John (66 km) | 24,383 | 200.6 | 214.9 | D |
| Electoral Area C, Peace River (69 km) | 6,344 | 81.8 | 82.5 | C |
Every neighbour with a figure of its own has a lower index than Dawson Creek. Closest is Electoral Area D, Peace River, 8 km away, at 107.6 to 213.1 here.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means. Distances here run 8–69 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Dawson Creek.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What clearance means. Cleared means solved by police, charged or not; it says nothing about what courts decide.
- An index, not a verdict. 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.”
- The index’s scale. The index is scaled so that Canada as a whole scored 100 in its base year, 2006: a town at 50 has half that severity per resident.
Questions about safety in Dawson Creek
Is Dawson Creek safe?
Dawson Creek scores 213.1 on Statistics Canada’s Crime Severity Index (2023–2025 mean), where the typical figure for Canadian towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people is 66; per 1,000 residents a year that is 32.3 violent incidents and 75.2 property crimes.
What is the most common crime in Dawson Creek?
Other Criminal Code offences is the most common, at 39.9 per 1,000 residents a year, then theft under $5,000 (26.3) and mischief (25.8).
Is crime going up in Dawson Creek?
The reverse: 257.9 in 2023 came down to 215.2 by 2025, 17% lower.
How much of Dawson Creek’s crime do police solve?
The weighted clearance rate is 33%: 41% for violent crime and 28% for non-violent. For the typical Canadian town its size it is 33%.
Whose figures are these?
A police service or contract that serves Dawson Creek 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).