Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainRecorded crime per resident is higher in Electoral Area B, Okanagan-Similkameen than in 84% of Canadian towns
Its violent half comes to 144 and its non-violent half to 102.1, where the norm is 86.4 and 62.8. Counting crime the police covering Electoral Area B, Okanagan-Similkameen reported from 2023 to 2025, it grades C− for safety. Police counts work out at 33.9 violent incidents and 39.9 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents annually; in the typical Canadian town of 2,500+ they are 12.0 and 31.2. Still, in 2023 the index stood at 120; it fell to 108 in 2025.
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. Crime severity, crime rate and incident counts for the South Okanagan/Oliver detachment area.
What stands out about safety in Electoral Area B, Okanagan-Similkameen
Assault: high for a town its size
Electoral Area B, Okanagan-Similkameen records 20.4 incidents of assault per 1,000 residents a year, against 6.7 in the typical town among Canadian towns of 2,500 people or more. By type ↓
Above British Columbia’s typical town
Electoral Area B, Okanagan-Similkameen’s index of 113.4 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.
Inside Electoral Area B, Okanagan-Similkameen’s C− for safety
How sure: A less certain grade than most, because the figures belong to the nearest detachment, 14 km from Electoral Area B, Okanagan-Similkameen, not to the town.
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.
The Crime Severity Index and its two halves, beside the typical figure for Canadian towns of 2,500 people or more.
What police record in Electoral Area B, Okanagan-Similkameen, by type
Against the typical town its size, Electoral Area B, Okanagan-Similkameen runs highest on assault (20.4 per 1,000 against 6.7), motor vehicle theft (7.1 per 1,000 against 2.4) and mischief (9.9 per 1,000 against 4.2). Theft under $5,000 sits below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0.3 | 0.06 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 2 | 0.4 | — |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 24 | 4.4 | 93% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 1.3 | 0.3 | — |
| Robbery | 0.3 | 0.06 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 0.3 | 0.06 | — |
| Other violent violations | 1 | 0.2 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 29 | 5.4 | 13% |
| Possession of stolen property | 12.3 | 2.3 | 35% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 38.3 | 7.1 | 3% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 6.3 | 1.2 | 5% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 49.3 | 9.1 | 3% |
| Mischief | 53.3 | 9.9 | 16% |
| Weapons violations | 3.3 | 0.6 | — |
| Administration of justice violations | 12.3 | 2.3 | 59% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 10.3 | 1.9 | 39% |
| Drug violations | 9.7 | 1.8 | 41% |
| Impaired driving | 12.3 | 2.3 | 59% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 0.3 | 0.06 | — |
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 people or more.
Around 180 violent incidents a year at the detachment nearest Electoral Area B, Okanagan-Similkameen (5,210 residents), 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.
And about 220 property crimes, plus 99 other violations, a year (2023–2025 average). Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot, one incident a year at the area’s rates.
Electoral Area B, Okanagan-Similkameen, year by year
Crime Severity Index
Its index has not been as high since 2023 (120); the low point came in 2025, at 108. For the typical Canadian town of 2,500+, 2023 gave 70.6 and 2025 gave 62.9.
Every year as a table
| Year | Electoral Area B, Okanagan-Similkameen | Typical town of 2,500+ |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 108 | 62.9 |
| 2024 | 112.1 | 68.5 |
| 2023 | 120 | 70.6 |
Statistics Canada, Crime Severity Index by police service, each year as published. Typical: the median of Canadian towns of 2,500 people or more.
The Crime Severity Index of the police covering Electoral Area B, Okanagan-Similkameen, each year, against the typical Canadian town of 2,500+.
Crime in the places around Electoral Area B, Okanagan-Similkameen
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electoral Area B, Okanagan-Similkameen | 1,190 | 113.4 | 144 | C− |
| Keremeos | 1,779 | 113.4 | 144 | C− |
| Oliver | 5,262 | 132.5 | 95.2 | D |
| Electoral Area C, Okanagan-Similkameen | 4,103 | 113.4 | 144 | C− |
| Osoyoos 1 | 1,484 | — | — | — |
| Electoral Area G, Okanagan-Similkameen | 2,402 | 113.4 | 144 | C− |
Its police also cover 3 neighbouring places, which carry the same index and are left out above.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What clearance means. Weighted like the index, so solving one assault counts for more than solving a mischief; a charge laid, recommended or otherwise resolved all count.
- An index, not a verdict. The index weighs crimes rather than counting them: a serious offence moves it far more than a minor one. Statistics Canada is plain about its limits: “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.
Questions about safety in Electoral Area B, Okanagan-Similkameen
Is Electoral Area B, Okanagan-Similkameen safe?
Electoral Area B, Okanagan-Similkameen measures 113.4 on the Crime Severity Index for 2023–2025, next to 67.2 for Canadian towns of 2,500 people or more. Per 1,000 residents a year, its police record 33.9 violent incidents and 39.9 property crimes.
What is the most common crime in Electoral Area B, Okanagan-Similkameen?
Police record assault most, 20.4 per 1,000 residents a year, ahead of other Criminal Code offences (10.7) and mischief (9.9).
Is crime going up in Electoral Area B, Okanagan-Similkameen?
The reverse: 120 in 2023 came down to 108 by 2025, 10% lower.
How much of Electoral Area B, Okanagan-Similkameen’s crime do police solve?
Weighted by seriousness, police cleared 36% of crime (70% of violent crime, 16% of the rest). The typical Canadian town of 2,500+ clears 34%.
Whose figures are these?
Those of the police serving Electoral Area B, Okanagan-Similkameen together with its neighbours or the countryside around it.
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).