Photo: Shawn from Airdrie, Canada · CC BY-SA 2.0Recorded crime per resident is lower in North Saanich than in 89% of Canadian towns
Of the two halves, violence comes to 32.9 and other offences to 39.6, beside norms of 89.4 and 56. Among its 5 neighbours with figures, only one records less crime per resident. Scored on crime the police covering North Saanich reported across 2023 to 2025, the town lands on A for safety: #10 of 251 in British Columbia. The yearly rates were 6.3 violent incidents and 15.3 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents, set against 12.0 and 30.5 in the typical town its size.
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 Saanich
Lighter than British Columbia’s middle
North Saanich’s index of 37.5 compares with 83.2 for the typical town in British Columbia. Towns its size ↓
Heavier on property and other crime
North Saanich’s index splits into violent crime, 32.9 here and 89.4 for the typical Canadian town its size, and everything else, 39.6 against 56. By type ↓
Lower than many towns its size
Of the 40 Canadian towns nearest it in size, North Saanich places 11th from the lowest index. 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 Saanich’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: #10 of 251 in British Columbia and #227 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.
What police record in North Saanich, by type
Assault and motor vehicle theft sit below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0 | 0 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 2.3 | 0.2 | — |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 0.7 | 0.05 | — |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 0 | 0 | — |
| Robbery | 0.7 | 0.05 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 0 | 0 | — |
| Other violent violations | 1.7 | 0.1 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 14 | 1.1 | 21% |
| Possession of stolen property | 2.7 | 0.2 | — |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 7 | 0.5 | 19% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 3.7 | 0.3 | — |
| Theft under $5,000 | 80.7 | 6.1 | 11% |
| Mischief | 41.7 | 3.2 | 24% |
| Weapons violations | 19.3 | 1.5 | 95% |
| Administration of justice violations | 12.3 | 0.9 | 63% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 6.7 | 0.5 | 60% |
| Drug violations | 6.3 | 0.5 | 43% |
| Impaired driving | 26 | 2 | 87% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 1.3 | 0.1 | — |
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.
About 83 violent incidents a year reached North Saanich’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 200 property crimes and 140 other violations a year (2023–2025 average). The grid is 1,000 residents, a coloured dot for each incident a year at these rates.
By its index, North Saanich stands 11th of 40 towns its size
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rothesay New Brunswick | 12,626 | 20 | 27.9 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 8 | Perth East Ontario | 13,423 | 35 | 39.3 | A |
| 9 | Winchester Ontario | 12,706 | 36.9 | 47.2 | A |
| 10 | Carignan Quebec | 12,618 | 37.1 | 58.5 | A |
| 11 | North Saanich British Columbia | 12,986 | 37.5 | 32.9 | A |
| 12 | Saint-Hippolyte Quebec | 12,550 | 38 | 60.1 | A |
| 13 | Bromont Quebec | 12,413 | 38.1 | 45.9 | A |
| 14 | Saltspring Island British Columbia | 12,429 | 39.1 | 40.3 | A |
| … | |||||
| 20 | View Royal British Columbia | 12,795 | 54.5 | 53.9 | B |
| 21 | Summerland British Columbia | 12,343 | 56.2 | 38.6 | B |
| … | |||||
| 24 | Sidney British Columbia | 13,445 | 68.4 | 72.4 | B− |
| … | |||||
| 34 | Terrace British Columbia | 13,648 | 174.6 | 155 | D |
| … | |||||
| 40 | Thompson Manitoba | 12,917 | 589.9 | 1,034.6 | 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 North Saanich in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
In North Saanich, down 10% between 2023 and 2025
Crime Severity Index
Nothing since 2023 has matched that year’s 41.6; the lightest was 2024, at 33.5. For the typical Canadian town its size, 2023 gave 69.5 and 2025 gave 60.
Every year as a table
| Year | North Saanich | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 37.3 | 60 |
| 2024 | 33.5 | 67.9 |
| 2023 | 41.6 | 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 Saanich, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Crime in the places around North Saanich
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Saanich | 12,986 | 37.5 | 32.9 | A |
| Sidney | 13,445 | 68.4 | 72.4 | B− |
| East Saanich 2 | 1,962 | — | — | — |
| Electoral Area A, Cowichan Valley | 5,156 | 49.9 | 52.5 | B+ |
| Central Saanich | 18,184 | 34.7 | 33.1 | A |
| Cobble Hill | 5,074 | 49.9 | 52.5 | B+ |
| Highlands | 2,753 | 92.7 | 168.2 | C |
Of 5 places nearby with their own figures, 1 come in under North Saanich. Just 10.5 km away, Central Saanich comes to 34.7, against 37.5.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The clearance rate. The clearance rate is the share of incidents police solve, by a charge or otherwise, weighted by seriousness like the index. It isn’t a conviction rate.
- Severity, weighed. 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.”
- What 100 means. 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.
Questions about safety in North Saanich
Is North Saanich safe?
North Saanich scores 37.5 on Statistics Canada’s Crime Severity Index (2023–2025 mean), where the typical figure for Canadian towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people is 66; per 1,000 residents a year that is 6.3 violent incidents and 15.3 property crimes.
What is the most common crime in North Saanich?
Police record other Criminal Code offences most, 7.2 per 1,000 residents a year, ahead of theft under $5,000 (6.1) and fraud (3.8).
Is crime going up in North Saanich?
It went down 10% between 2023 and 2025, from 41.6 to 37.3.
How much of North Saanich’s crime do police solve?
Police cleared 32% of crime once each incident is weighted by seriousness: 49% of violent crime and 25% of the rest, against 33% for the typical Canadian town its size.
Whose figures are these?
A police service or contract that serves North Saanich 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).