Photo: Joe Mabel · CC BY-SA 3.0For recorded crime, Kent sits in the middle of Canadian towns
None of the 5 towns next door with figures records less crime per resident. On top of that, the index that weighs each crime by its seriousness comes to 65.5 here (2023–2025 mean), and to 68.5 for the typical Canadian town its size. Overall, it grades B− for safety (#69 of 251 in British Columbia). Police counts work out at 20.0 violent incidents and 19.5 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents annually; in the typical town its size they are 12.9 and 31.2.
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 Kent
Drug offences: high for a town its size
Kent records 1.8 incidents of drug offences per 1,000 residents a year, against 0.7 in the typical town among Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people. By type ↓
Down since 2023
Kent’s index went from 75.7 in 2023 to 57.6 in 2025; the typical Canadian town its size moved from 74.3 to 64.2. Year by year ↓
Under the British Columbia norm
Within British Columbia, the median town comes to 83.2 on the index, against 65.5 in Kent. Towns its size ↓
In the middle of towns its size
Line up the 40 Canadian towns nearest in size by their index and Kent stands 18th, 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.
The B− for Kent, and how it is built
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: #69 of 251 in British Columbia and #1,018 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.
Year by year in Kent: down 24%, 2023 to 2025
Crime Severity Index
Its heaviest year came first: 2023, at 75.7, against a low of 57.6 in 2025. For the typical Canadian town its size, 2023 gave 74.3 and 2025 gave 64.2.
Every year as a table
| Year | Kent | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 57.6 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 63.1 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 75.7 | 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 Kent, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
What police record in Kent, by type
Against the typical town its size, Kent runs highest on drug offences (1.8 per 1,000 against 0.7), assault (11.1 per 1,000 against 6.7) and sexual assault (1.2 per 1,000 against 0.9). 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 | 0 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 1.3 | 0.2 | — |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 10.3 | 1.4 | 65% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 0.7 | 0.08 | — |
| Robbery | 0.3 | 0.05 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 0 | 0 | — |
| Other violent violations | 0.7 | 0.08 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 15.3 | 2.1 | 7% |
| Possession of stolen property | 1 | 0.1 | — |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 15.3 | 2 | 2% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 5.7 | 0.8 | 0% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 37.3 | 5 | 2% |
| Mischief | 35 | 4.6 | 9% |
| Weapons violations | 2.7 | 0.4 | — |
| Administration of justice violations | 15 | 2 | 53% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 6 | 0.8 | 33% |
| Drug violations | 13.3 | 1.8 | 28% |
| Impaired driving | 16 | 2.2 | 69% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 0.7 | 0.08 | — |
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, Kent stands 18th of 40 towns its size
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Trent Lakes Ontario | 7,357 | 20.6 | 24.8 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 11 | Fairwinds British Columbia | 7,125 | 44.5 | 43.2 | A− |
| … | |||||
| 15 | Electoral Area C, East Kootenay British Columbia | 7,006 | 56.2 | 70.5 | B |
| 16 | Thunder Bay, Unorganized Ontario | 6,831 | 62.7 | 107.8 | B− |
| 17 | Douglas New Brunswick | 6,840 | 63.2 | 81.9 | B− |
| 18 | Kent British Columbia | 7,093 | 65.5 | 97.8 | B− |
| 19 | Portage la Prairie Manitoba | 7,359 | 67.8 | 71.8 | B− |
| 20 | Saint-Paul Quebec | 7,208 | 68.5 | 107.8 | B− |
| 21 | Chandler Quebec | 7,323 | 69.4 | 134.9 | C+ |
| 22 | Fernie British Columbia | 7,086 | 69.5 | 65.2 | C+ |
| … | |||||
| 36 | Hope British Columbia | 7,183 | 208.1 | 173 | D |
| … | |||||
| 38 | Merritt British Columbia | 7,190 | 270.6 | 338.1 | D |
| … | |||||
| 40 | Algoma, Unorganized, North Part Ontario | 7,008 | 302.3 | 509 | 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 Kent in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Around 150 violent incidents a year on Kent’s police records (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 150 property crimes and 120 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 Kent
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kent | 7,093 | 65.5 | 97.8 | B− |
| Rosedale | 2,401 | 164.4 | 219.2 | D |
| Harrison Hot Springs | 2,148 | 164.4 | 219.2 | D |
| Electoral Area C, Fraser Valley | 1,155 | 164.4 | 219.2 | D |
| Skowkale | 1,114 | — | — | — |
| Chilliwack | 105,520 | 142.2 | 158.4 | D |
| Electoral Area E, Fraser Valley | 1,748 | 164.4 | 219.2 | D |
The places around Kent all score higher on the index.
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.”
- The index’s scale. Canada’s own index has been below its 2006 base of 100 for years, so 100 marks a fixed reference, not today’s national average.
- What clearance means. Police clear an incident by charging someone, recommending a charge, or closing it another way. The rate weighs serious crimes more, as the index does.
Questions about safety in Kent
Is Kent safe?
On Statistics Canada’s figures, Kent scores 65.5 on the Crime Severity Index for 2023–2025, with 20 violent and 19.5 property incidents per 1,000 residents a year. The typical figure for Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people is 68.5.
What is the most common crime in Kent?
Police record assault most, 11.1 per 1,000 residents a year, ahead of other Criminal Code offences (10.2) and theft under $5,000 (5).
Is crime going up in Kent?
The reverse: 75.7 in 2023 came down to 57.6 by 2025, 24% lower.
How much of Kent’s crime do police solve?
About 24% of crime is cleared, weighted by seriousness, with 39% of violent and 12% of other crime; the figure for the typical Canadian town its size is 34%.
Whose figures are these?
A police service or contract that serves Kent 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).