Photo: Eric Friedebach · CC BY 3.0Recorded crime per resident is higher in Merritt than in 95% of Canadian towns
Of the two halves, violence comes to 338.1 and other offences to 245.9, beside norms of 85.7 and 62.8. Behind the grade sit 54.2 violent incidents and 109.7 incidents of property crime per 1,000 people a year, where the comparison is 12.9 and 31.2 in the typical town its size. From 2023 to 2025, crime the police covering Merritt reported put it at D for safety: #246 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 Merritt
Mischief: high for a town its size
Merritt records 47.8 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 ↓
Over the British Columbia norm
Set among British Columbia’s towns, whose median is 83.2, Merritt scores 270.6. Towns its size ↓
A higher index than most towns its size
Counting up from the lowest index, Merritt is 38th of the 40 Canadian towns closest in population. Towns its size ↓
More severe than in 2023
From 245.4 in 2023 to 291.7 in 2025: that is Merritt’s index, against 74.3 and 64.2 for the typical Canadian town its size. 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 Merritt’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: #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.
Merritt’s crime by kind
Against the typical town its size, Merritt runs highest on mischief (47.8 per 1,000 against 4.9), drug offences (3.8 per 1,000 against 0.7) and break and enter (13.7 per 1,000 against 2.8).
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 1.3 | 0.2 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 6.7 | 0.9 | 45% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 10 | 1.4 | 100% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 2.7 | 0.4 | — |
| Robbery | 6 | 0.8 | 38% |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 3.3 | 0.5 | — |
| Other violent violations | 2.7 | 0.4 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 99.7 | 13.7 | 15% |
| Possession of stolen property | 12.3 | 1.7 | 43% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 25.7 | 3.5 | 25% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 7 | 1 | 14% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 222 | 30.6 | 26% |
| Mischief | 346 | 47.8 | 54% |
| Weapons violations | 14 | 1.9 | 59% |
| Administration of justice violations | 74.3 | 10.2 | 74% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 28 | 3.9 | 48% |
| Drug violations | 27.7 | 3.8 | 36% |
| Impaired driving | 39 | 5.4 | 35% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 0.7 | 0.09 | — |
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.
Among 40 towns its size, Merritt places 38th
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Trent Lakes Ontario | 7,357 | 20.6 | 24.8 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 10 | Fairwinds British Columbia | 7,125 | 44.5 | 43.2 | A− |
| … | |||||
| 13 | Electoral Area C, East Kootenay British Columbia | 7,006 | 56.2 | 70.5 | B |
| … | |||||
| 16 | Kent British Columbia | 7,093 | 65.5 | 97.8 | B− |
| … | |||||
| 20 | Fernie British Columbia | 7,086 | 69.5 | 65.2 | C+ |
| … | |||||
| 35 | Slave Lake Alberta | 7,334 | 186.1 | 153.9 | D |
| 36 | Hope British Columbia | 7,183 | 208.1 | 173 | D |
| 37 | Peace River Alberta | 7,220 | 254.7 | 229 | D |
| 38 | Merritt British Columbia | 7,190 | 270.6 | 338.1 | D |
| 39 | Bonnyville Alberta | 7,366 | 285.4 | 211.4 | 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 Merritt in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Merritt’s index rose 19% from 2023 to 2025
Crime Severity Index
The latest year was its heaviest: 2025, at 291.7, with 2023 the lightest at 245.4. Over 2023–2025, the typical Canadian town its size moved from 74.3 to 64.2.
Every year as a table
| Year | Merritt | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 291.7 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 274.7 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 245.4 | 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 Merritt, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Police in Merritt recorded about 390 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.
Add about 800 property crimes and 390 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 Merritt
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Merritt | 7,190 | 270.6 | 338.1 | D |
| Electoral Area M (Beautiful Nicola Valley - North), Thompson-Nicola (9 km) | 1,731 | 85.3 | 106 | C |
| Logan Lake (43 km) | 2,337 | 85.2 | 139.9 | C |
| Electoral Area H, Okanagan-Similkameen (59 km) | 2,372 | 114.4 | 174.3 | C− |
| Electoral Area J (Copper Desert Country), Thompson-Nicola (67 km) | 1,958 | 85.2 | 139.9 | C |
| Electoral Area I (Blue Sky Country), Thompson-Nicola (70 km) | 1,189 | 135.5 | 113.5 | D |
Each neighbour with its own figure comes in under Merritt. Electoral Area M (Beautiful Nicola Valley - North), Thompson-Nicola, 8.9 km away, is the nearest lower one, at 85.3 to 270.6.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means. Merritt has few close neighbours with figures, so the list reaches 9–70 km out.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Reading the number. Statistics Canada set the national index at 100 for 2006; every figure here is read against that.
- Solved cases. A crime is cleared when police lay or recommend a charge, or solve it another way; the weighted rate counts serious crimes for more.
- How serious, not how safe. 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.”
Questions about safety in Merritt
Is Merritt safe?
With 54.2 violent incidents and 109.7 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, Merritt comes to 270.6 on the Crime Severity Index (2023–2025); Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people have a median of 68.5.
What is the most common crime in Merritt?
Police record mischief most, 47.8 per 1,000 residents a year, ahead of other Criminal Code offences (43.3) and theft under $5,000 (30.6).
Is crime going up in Merritt?
Yes: the index rose 19%, from 245.4 in 2023 to 291.7 in 2025.
How much of Merritt’s crime do police solve?
Police cleared 33% of crime once each incident is weighted by seriousness: 46% of violent crime and 26% of the rest, against 34% for the typical Canadian town its size.
Whose figures are these?
Its own police: the service or contract that covers Merritt and nowhere else.
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).