Photo: CanadianEman · CC BY-SA 3.0Fort Nelson records more crime per resident than 95% of Canadian towns
Its violent half comes to 376.9 and its non-violent half to 220.7, where the norm is 85.7 and 62.8. Counting crime the police covering Fort Nelson reported from 2023 to 2025, it grades D for safety: #246 of 251 in British Columbia. The yearly rates were 69.3 violent incidents and 89.0 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents, set against 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. Measured across the Northern Rockies detachment area: crime severity, crime rate and incident counts.
What stands out about safety in Fort Nelson
Mischief: high for a town its size
Fort Nelson records 47.5 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 ↓
Above British Columbia’s typical town
Within British Columbia, the median town comes to 83.2 on the index, against 263.7 in Fort Nelson. Towns its size ↓
A higher index than most towns its size
Line up the 40 Canadian towns nearest in size by their index and Fort Nelson stands 38th, the lowest first. 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’s behind Fort Nelson’s grade
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: #246 of 251 in British Columbia and #2,522 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.
Which crimes make up Fort Nelson’s figures
Against the typical town its size, Fort Nelson runs highest on mischief (47.5 per 1,000 against 4.9), assault (36.8 per 1,000 against 6.7) and drug offences (3.7 per 1,000 against 0.7).
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0.3 | 0.07 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 8.7 | 1.9 | 26% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 5.7 | 1.2 | 100% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 3 | 0.6 | — |
| Robbery | 0.7 | 0.1 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 2 | 0.4 | — |
| Other violent violations | 8.7 | 1.9 | 34% |
| Breaking and entering | 46.7 | 10 | 22% |
| Possession of stolen property | 6 | 1.3 | 33% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 31.3 | 6.7 | 20% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 6.7 | 1.4 | 0% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 64 | 13.7 | 18% |
| Mischief | 221.7 | 47.5 | 29% |
| Weapons violations | 6.3 | 1.4 | 59% |
| Administration of justice violations | 105.3 | 22.6 | 64% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 16.7 | 3.6 | 38% |
| Drug violations | 17.3 | 3.7 | 17% |
| Impaired driving | 45 | 9.7 | 36% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 0.7 | 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.
By its index, Fort Nelson stands 38th of 40 towns its size
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lac-Etchemin Quebec | 4,089 | 30.8 | 48.9 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 5 | Electoral Area F, Central Kootenay British Columbia | 4,209 | 35.8 | 32 | A |
| … | |||||
| 17 | Electoral Area E, Cariboo British Columbia | 4,242 | 51.7 | 55.1 | B+ |
| … | |||||
| 20 | Electoral Area E, Kitimat-Stikine British Columbia | 4,153 | 53.7 | 75.4 | B |
| … | |||||
| 22 | Electoral Area B, Cariboo British Columbia | 4,169 | 63.3 | 76.4 | B− |
| … | |||||
| 35 | Vermilion Alberta | 4,192 | 142.6 | 129.6 | D |
| 36 | Smoky Lake County Alberta | 4,043 | 255 | 152.4 | D |
| 37 | Port Hardy British Columbia | 4,201 | 259.5 | 435.4 | D |
| 38 | Fort Nelson British Columbia | 4,144 | 263.7 | 376.9 | D |
| 39 | Alexander Manitoba | 4,032 | 298.9 | 493 | D− |
| 40 | Swan River Manitoba | 4,048 | 435.7 | 403.3 | 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 Fort Nelson in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
About 320 violent incidents a year across the police area of 4,700 residents that includes Fort Nelson, 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 420 property crimes and 260 other violations a year (2023–2025 average). The grid is 1,000 residents, a coloured dot for each incident a year at these rates.
The index in Fort Nelson, each year
Crime Severity Index
The middle year, 2024, was the heaviest at 302.8; 2025 was lightest, at 222.9. For the typical Canadian town its size, 2023 gave 74.3 and 2025 gave 64.2.
Every year as a table
| Year | Fort Nelson | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 222.9 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 302.8 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 265.5 | 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 Fort Nelson, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What 100 means. 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.
- The clearance rate. The clearance rate is the share of incidents police solve, by a charge or otherwise, weighted by seriousness like the index. It isn’t a conviction rate.
- Severity, weighed. 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.”
- Few people behind the figures. About 4,697 people live in the area these figures cover; at that size one bad year shows up large. Statistics Canada says: “Data for police services or detachments with populations less than 5,000 should be used with caution.”
- A wider policing area. Detachment figures cover the detachment’s whole area: Fort Nelson together with the countryside and smaller places it polices.
Questions about safety in Fort Nelson
Is Fort Nelson safe?
Statistics Canada puts Fort Nelson at 263.7 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 69.3 and property crimes at 89 per 1,000 residents a year.
What is the most common crime in Fort Nelson?
Police record mischief most, 47.5 per 1,000 residents a year, ahead of other Criminal Code offences (38.1) and assault (36.8).
Is crime going up in Fort Nelson?
The reverse: 265.5 in 2023 came down to 222.9 by 2025, 16% lower. A small or partial count makes this change uncertain.
How much of Fort Nelson’s crime do police solve?
Weighted by seriousness, police cleared 32% of crime (45% of violent crime, 23% of the rest). The typical Canadian town its size clears 34%.
Whose figures are these?
A shared service or detachment’s, reported as one for Fort Nelson 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).