Photo: Dennis Sylvester Hurd · CC0New Westminster records more crime per resident than 73% of Canadian towns
The yearly rates were 16.1 violent incidents and 35.0 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents, set against 10.8 and 25.1 in the typical town its size. Scored on crime the police covering New Westminster reported across 2023 to 2025, the town lands on C for safety: #132 of 251 in British Columbia. Add to that, all 6 towns next door with figures record less crime per resident. Split in two, the index gives 94.6 for violence and 85.9 for everything else (normally 75.2 and 54.2).
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 New Westminster
Less crime solved
Weighted by seriousness, 22% of crime in New Westminster ends in a charge or is otherwise solved: 38% of violent crime and 15% of the rest. Across Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more the figure is 38%. Questions ↓
Higher than many towns its size
Set among the 40 Canadian towns closest to it in population, New Westminster comes 28th, counting from the lowest Crime Severity Index. Towns its size ↓
Assault: high for a town its size
New Westminster records 8.5 incidents of assault per 1,000 residents a year, against 4.9 in the typical town among Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more. By type ↓
About the British Columbia norm
The typical British Columbia town scores 83.2; New Westminster, 87.9. 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.
Inside New Westminster’s C for safety
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: #132 of 251 in British Columbia and #1,803 of 2,572 Canadian towns.
The Crime Severity Index and its two halves, beside the typical figure for Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more.
Which crimes make up New Westminster’s figures
Against the typical town its size, New Westminster runs highest on robbery (0.8 per 1,000 against 0.4), assault (8.5 per 1,000 against 4.9) and theft under $5,000 (17.9 per 1,000 against 11.5). Motor vehicle theft sits below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0.3 | 0.00 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 27.7 | 0.3 | 24% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 24.7 | 0.3 | 97% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 2.3 | 0.03 | — |
| Robbery | 71.3 | 0.8 | 35% |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 6 | 0.07 | 78% |
| Other violent violations | 6.7 | 0.07 | 19% |
| Breaking and entering | 271.7 | 3 | 14% |
| Possession of stolen property | 29.7 | 0.3 | 39% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 127.3 | 1.4 | 5% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 148.3 | 1.6 | 6% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 1,625 | 17.9 | 20% |
| Mischief | 477.7 | 5.3 | 13% |
| Weapons violations | 91.7 | 1 | 32% |
| Administration of justice violations | 224 | 2.5 | 76% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 100.7 | 1.1 | 36% |
| Drug violations | 72 | 0.8 | 38% |
| Impaired driving | 207 | 2.3 | 57% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 80 | 0.9 | 11% |
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 50,000 people or more.
In New Westminster, down 13% between 2023 and 2025
Crime Severity Index
2023 opened the run as its heaviest year (96.2); 2024 was the lightest, at 83.6. Over 2023–2025, the typical Canadian town its size moved from 64.3 to 59.2.
Every year as a table
| Year | New Westminster | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 83.9 | 59.2 |
| 2024 | 83.6 | 59.9 |
| 2023 | 96.2 | 64.3 |
Statistics Canada, Crime Severity Index by police service, each year as published. Typical: the median of Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more.
The Crime Severity Index of the police covering New Westminster, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
New Westminster is 28th of 40 towns its size, lowest index first
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Repentigny Quebec | 91,290 | 28.1 | 48.2 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 4 | North Vancouver British Columbia | 97,845 | 36 | 33.7 | A |
| … | |||||
| 16 | Port Coquitlam British Columbia | 67,724 | 58.2 | 52 | B |
| … | |||||
| 25 | Saint John New Brunswick | 79,371 | 81.5 | 114.2 | C |
| 26 | Maple Ridge British Columbia | 105,925 | 87 | 97.6 | C |
| 27 | Medicine Hat Alberta | 68,714 | 87.3 | 82.6 | C |
| 28 | New Westminster British Columbia | 92,124 | 87.9 | 94.6 | C |
| 29 | Fredericton New Brunswick | 74,655 | 92.3 | 101.9 | C |
| 30 | Sault Ste. Marie Ontario | 81,182 | 109.6 | 137 | C− |
| 31 | Moncton New Brunswick | 102,378 | 113.1 | 113.3 | C− |
| 32 | Nanaimo British Columbia | 111,845 | 121.6 | 127.7 | D |
| … | |||||
| 36 | Chilliwack British Columbia | 105,520 | 142.2 | 158.4 | D |
| … | |||||
| 40 | Prince George British Columbia | 85,944 | 209.1 | 239.6 | 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 New Westminster in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
New Westminster’s police: about 1,460 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.
Add about 3,170 property crimes and 1,540 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 New Westminster
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Westminster | 92,124 | 87.9 | 94.6 | C |
| East Burnaby | 17,233 | 70.5 | 64.6 | C+ |
| Edmonds | 34,805 | 70.5 | 64.6 | C+ |
| Bridgeview | 3,511 | 93.6 | 75.5 | C− |
| Buckingham Heights | 8,794 | 70.5 | 64.6 | C+ |
| Brownsville | 23,515 | 93.6 | 75.5 | C− |
| Royal Oak | 18,364 | 70.5 | 64.6 | C+ |
New Westminster sits above 4 of the 6 neighbours with figures of their own. Just 2.3 km away, East Burnaby comes to 70.5, against 87.9.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The clearance rate. Weighted like the index, so solving one assault counts for more than solving a mischief; a charge laid, recommended or otherwise resolved all count.
- Severity, weighed. Police-reported incidents, each multiplied by a weight drawn from court sentences, summed and divided by the population: that is the index, and its makers attach a caution, “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.”
- What 100 means. A reading of 100 is the whole country in 2006. Half of that, 50, means half the severity per resident.
Questions about safety in New Westminster
Is New Westminster safe?
Statistics Canada puts New Westminster at 87.9 on its Crime Severity Index over 2023–2025; Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more sit at 60.3 in the middle. Violent incidents run at 16.1 and property crimes at 35 per 1,000 residents a year.
What is the most common crime in New Westminster?
Theft under $5,000 is the most common, at 17.9 per 1,000 residents a year, then other Criminal Code offences (12.2) and assault (8.5).
Is crime going up in New Westminster?
The reverse: 96.2 in 2023 came down to 83.9 by 2025, 13% lower.
How much of New Westminster’s crime do police solve?
Counting serious crimes for more, 22% end in a charge or are otherwise solved (38% for the typical Canadian town its size); split up, that is 38% of violent and 15% of non-violent crime.
Whose figures are these?
A police service or contract that serves New Westminster 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).