Photo: Darren Kirby · CC BY-SA 2.0Recorded crime per resident is lower in Kaslo than in 60% of Canadian towns
Per 1,000 residents a year, 9.0 violent incidents and 27.7 incidents of property crime were recorded, against 12.0 and 31.2 in the typical Canadian town of 2,500+. What’s more, its Safety Grade is B, on crime the police covering Kaslo reported from 2023 to 2025. The index that weighs each crime by its seriousness comes to 55.8 here (2023–2025 mean), and to 67.2 for the typical Canadian town of 2,500+.
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 for the Kaslo detachment area.
What stands out about safety in Kaslo
A low clearance rate
The weighted clearance rate, the share of crime police solve, is 7% for Kaslo (24% violent, 3% non-violent), beside 34% for Canadian towns of 2,500 people or more. Questions ↓
Lighter than British Columbia’s middle
The typical British Columbia town scores 83.2; Kaslo, 55.8. Towns its size ↓
Heavier on property and other crime
Kaslo scores 39.2 for violence and 62.9 for other crime; the typical Canadian town of 2,500+ scores 86.4 and 62.8. By type ↓
Written from Statistics Canada’s police-reported crime by police service and detachment, 2023–2025. Figures are what police recorded, not convictions.
Kaslo: B for safety, and why
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.
The Crime Severity Index and its two halves, beside the typical figure for Canadian towns of 2,500 people or more.
Crime in Kaslo, type by type
Against the typical town its size, Kaslo runs highest on mischief (8.4 per 1,000 against 4.2) and fraud (6.2 per 1,000 against 5.1). 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 | 0.7 | 0.3 | — |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 0.3 | 0.1 | — |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 0.7 | 0.3 | — |
| Robbery | 0 | 0 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 0 | 0 | — |
| Other violent violations | 0 | 0 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 5 | 1.9 | 6% |
| Possession of stolen property | 1 | 0.4 | — |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 4.3 | 1.7 | — |
| Theft over $5,000 | 0.7 | 0.3 | — |
| Theft under $5,000 | 23.3 | 8.9 | 1% |
| Mischief | 22 | 8.4 | 5% |
| Weapons violations | 1.3 | 0.5 | — |
| Administration of justice violations | 1 | 0.4 | — |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 4.7 | 1.8 | — |
| Drug violations | 0.7 | 0.3 | — |
| Impaired driving | 4.7 | 1.8 | — |
| 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 people or more.
The police area Kaslo is part of, 2,650 residents, recorded about 24 violent incidents a year (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.
And about 73 property crimes, plus 52 other violations, a year (2023–2025 average). Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot, one incident a year at the area’s rates.
The index in Kaslo, each year
Crime Severity Index
From 62 in 2023, its first and heaviest year, it eased to a low of 46.1 in 2025. Set beside it, the typical Canadian town of 2,500+ went from 70.6 in 2023 to 62.9 in 2025.
Every year as a table
| Year | Kaslo | Typical town of 2,500+ |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 46.1 | 62.9 |
| 2024 | 59.2 | 68.5 |
| 2023 | 62 | 70.6 |
Statistics Canada, Crime Severity Index by police service, each year as published. Typical: the median of Canadian towns of 2,500 people or more.
The Crime Severity Index of the police covering Kaslo, each year, against the typical Canadian town of 2,500+.
Crime in the places around Kaslo
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kaslo | 1,141 | 55.8 | 39.2 | B |
| Electoral Area D, Central Kootenay (25 km) | 1,596 | 55.8 | 39.2 | B |
| Electoral Area F, Central Kootenay (50 km) | 4,209 | 35.8 | 32 | A |
| Nelson (54 km) | 12,126 | 100.4 | 98.4 | C− |
| Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay (55 km) | 4,309 | 35.8 | 32 | A |
| Electoral Area H, Central Kootenay (58 km) | 5,390 | 35.8 | 32 | A |
3 of the 4 neighbours with their own figures score lower than Kaslo. Closest is Electoral Area F, Central Kootenay, 49.7 km away, at 35.8 to 55.8 here. A neighbour policed by the same service carries the same figure, so it isn’t set against it.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means. Kaslo has few close neighbours with figures, so the list reaches 25–58 km out.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What clearance means. A cleared case is one police consider solved. Whether anyone is convicted is a separate matter the rate doesn’t follow.
- An index, not a verdict. Statistics Canada, which publishes the index, attaches a caution: “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.” The number weighs each reported crime by its seriousness before dividing by residents.
- Read with care. About 2,653 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.”
- Shared with the countryside. The detachment counts crime across its whole territory, of which Kaslo is one part.
- The index’s scale. Figures are relative to one fixed point, Canada in 2006 at 100, rather than to this year’s national number.
Questions about safety in Kaslo
Is Kaslo safe?
Police-reported crime in Kaslo scores 55.8 on Statistics Canada’s Crime Severity Index (2023–2025 mean), with 9 violent incidents and 27.7 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year. In the middle of Canadian towns of 2,500 people or more the figure is 67.2.
What is the most common crime in Kaslo?
Top of the list is other Criminal Code offences (17.4 per 1,000 residents a year); theft under $5,000, at 8.9, and mischief, at 8.4, follow.
Is crime going up in Kaslo?
The reverse: 62 in 2023 came down to 46.1 by 2025, 26% lower. The police area is small or partly reported, so treat the change with care.
How much of Kaslo’s crime do police solve?
The weighted clearance rate is 7%: 24% for violent crime and 3% for non-violent. For the typical Canadian town of 2,500+ it is 34%.
Whose figures are these?
A shared service or detachment’s, reported as one for Kaslo 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).