Photo: Blake Handley from Victoria, Canada · CC BY 2.0Per resident, North Cowichan records more crime than 78% of Canadian towns
Out of every 1,000 residents, 25.1 violent incidents and 44.8 incidents of property crime are reported annually, against 12.0 and 30.5 in the typical town its size. Measured on crime the police covering North Cowichan reported between 2023 and 2025, it earns a Safety Grade of C−: #198 of 251 in British Columbia. Split in two, the index gives 124 for violence and 89.9 for everything else (normally 89.4 and 56). Next door, 2 of 5 towns with figures record less crime per resident.
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 North Cowichan
Mischief: high for a town its size
North Cowichan records 20.8 incidents of mischief per 1,000 residents a year, against 3.7 in the typical town among Canadian towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people. By type ↓
Higher than many towns its size
Of the 40 Canadian towns nearest it in size, North Cowichan places 31st from the lowest index. Towns its size ↓
Close to British Columbia’s typical town
North Cowichan’s index of 99 compares with 83.2 for the typical town in British Columbia. 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 North Cowichan’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: #198 of 251 in British Columbia and #1,926 of 2,572 Canadian towns.
The Crime Severity Index and its two halves, beside the typical figure for Canadian towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people.
North Cowichan’s crime by kind
Against the typical town its size, North Cowichan runs highest on mischief (20.8 per 1,000 against 3.7), drug offences (3.1 per 1,000 against 0.8) and assault (14.4 per 1,000 against 6.6). Motor vehicle theft sits below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0.7 | 0.02 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 11 | 0.3 | 64% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 25 | 0.7 | 100% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 5.3 | 0.2 | 51% |
| Robbery | 12.3 | 0.4 | 30% |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 3 | 0.09 | — |
| Other violent violations | 10.7 | 0.3 | 44% |
| Breaking and entering | 122.7 | 3.6 | 21% |
| Possession of stolen property | 34.3 | 1 | 22% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 41 | 1.2 | 11% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 14.3 | 0.4 | 7% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 416 | 12.2 | 14% |
| Mischief | 709.3 | 20.8 | 33% |
| Weapons violations | 42 | 1.2 | 62% |
| Administration of justice violations | 142 | 4.2 | 65% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 61.7 | 1.8 | 55% |
| Drug violations | 106.3 | 3.1 | 57% |
| Impaired driving | 165 | 4.8 | 53% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 1.3 | 0.04 | — |
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 10,000 to 50,000 people.
North Cowichan is 31st of 40 towns its size, lowest index first
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | LaSalle Ontario | 36,452 | 22.9 | 17.8 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 11 | Port Moody British Columbia | 38,285 | 43.5 | 43.4 | A− |
| … | |||||
| 25 | West Kelowna British Columbia | 40,274 | 78.4 | 79.1 | C+ |
| … | |||||
| 28 | Conception Bay South Newfoundland and Labrador | 29,725 | 81 | 104.2 | C |
| 29 | Leduc Alberta | 39,966 | 82.8 | 70.5 | C |
| 30 | Orillia Ontario | 37,735 | 98.5 | 146.3 | C− |
| 31 | North Cowichan British Columbia | 34,525 | 99 | 124 | C− |
| 32 | Val-d'Or Quebec | 33,353 | 103.6 | 183.5 | C− |
| 33 | Moose Jaw Saskatchewan | 36,337 | 105 | 105.2 | C− |
| 34 | Dieppe New Brunswick | 35,986 | 113.1 | 113.3 | C− |
| … | |||||
| 36 | Langley British Columbia | 35,444 | 127.5 | 145 | D |
| 37 | Courtenay British Columbia | 32,869 | 131.2 | 129 | D |
| … | |||||
| 40 | Whitehorse Yukon | 34,129 | 171.7 | 196.7 | 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 North Cowichan in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
About 860 violent incidents a year reached North Cowichan’s police, 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 1,530 property crimes and 850 other violations a year (2023–2025 average). The grid is 1,000 residents, a coloured dot for each incident a year at these rates.
From 2023 to 2025, North Cowichan’s index held steady
Crime Severity Index
The index started at its highest, 102.9 in 2023, and touched its lowest in 2024, at 92.8. For the typical Canadian town its size, 2023 gave 69.5 and 2025 gave 60.
Every year as a table
| Year | North Cowichan | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 101.4 | 60 |
| 2024 | 92.8 | 67.9 |
| 2023 | 102.9 | 69.5 |
Statistics Canada, Crime Severity Index by police service, each year as published. Typical: the median of Canadian towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people.
The Crime Severity Index of the police covering North Cowichan, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Crime in the places around North Cowichan
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Cowichan | 34,525 | 99 | 124 | C− |
| Duncan | 5,745 | 384.5 | 331.1 | D− |
| Cowichan | 2,509 | — | — | — |
| Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley | 4,482 | 131.7 | 149.7 | D |
| Cowichan Bay | 3,713 | 131.7 | 149.7 | D |
| Saltspring Island | 12,429 | 39.1 | 40.3 | A |
| Cobble Hill | 5,074 | 49.9 | 52.5 | B+ |
Nearby, 2 of 5 places with their own figures have a lower index than North Cowichan. Closest is Saltspring Island, 14.5 km away, at 39.1 to 99 here.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What clearance means. Cleared means solved by police, charged or not; it says nothing about what courts decide.
- 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.
- The index’s scale. Statistics Canada set the national index at 100 for 2006; every figure here is read against that.
Questions about safety in North Cowichan
Is North Cowichan safe?
Its police recorded 25.1 violent incidents and 44.8 property crimes a year per 1,000 residents over 2023–2025, which gives North Cowichan a Crime Severity Index of 99. The typical figure for Canadian towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people is 66.
What is the most common crime in North Cowichan?
Police record mischief most, 20.8 per 1,000 residents a year, ahead of other Criminal Code offences (15.7) and assault (14.4).
Is crime going up in North Cowichan?
Not much: the index went from 102.9 in 2023 to 101.4 in 2025.
How much of North Cowichan’s crime do police solve?
Weighted by seriousness, police cleared 34% of crime (47% of violent crime, 27% of the rest). The typical Canadian town its size clears 33%.
Whose figures are these?
A police service or contract that serves North Cowichan 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).