Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainMore crimes per resident are recorded in Electoral Area C, Okanagan-Similkameen than in 84% of Canadian towns
Of the 3 towns on its borders with figures, 2 record less crime per resident. Year on year, 33.9 violent incidents and 39.9 incidents of property crime occur per 1,000 residents, compared with 12.9 and 31.2 in the typical town its size. Counting crime the police covering Electoral Area C, Okanagan-Similkameen reported from 2023 to 2025, it grades C− for safety: #208 of 251 in British Columbia. Split in two, the index gives 144 for violence and 102.1 for everything else (normally 85.7 and 62.8).
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. Source area for crime severity, crime rate and incident counts: the South Okanagan/Oliver detachment area.
What stands out about safety in Electoral Area C, Okanagan-Similkameen
Assault: high for a town its size
Electoral Area C, 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 to 10,000 people. By type ↓
Higher than many towns its size
Set among the 40 Canadian towns closest to it in population, Electoral Area C, Okanagan-Similkameen comes 29th, counting from the lowest Crime Severity Index. Towns its size ↓
Over the British Columbia norm
The typical British Columbia town scores 83.2; Electoral Area C, Okanagan-Similkameen, 113.4. 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 C, Okanagan-Similkameen’s C− for safety
How sure: A less certain grade than most, because the figures belong to the nearest detachment, 1 km from Electoral Area C, 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.
Its place: #208 of 251 in British Columbia and #2,217 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.
Which crimes make up Electoral Area C, Okanagan-Similkameen’s figures
Against the typical town its size, Electoral Area C, Okanagan-Similkameen runs highest on assault (20.4 per 1,000 against 6.7), motor vehicle theft (7.1 per 1,000 against 2.6) and drug offences (1.8 per 1,000 against 0.7). Fraud and theft under $5,000 sit 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 to 10,000 people.
Electoral Area C, Okanagan-Similkameen is 29th of 40 towns its size, lowest index first
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lac-Etchemin Quebec | 4,089 | 30.8 | 48.9 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 5 | Electoral Area F, Central Kootenay British Columbia | 4,209 | 35.8 | 32 | A |
| … | |||||
| 15 | Electoral Area E, Cariboo British Columbia | 4,242 | 51.7 | 55.1 | B+ |
| … | |||||
| 19 | Electoral Area E, Kitimat-Stikine British Columbia | 4,153 | 53.7 | 75.4 | B |
| … | |||||
| 21 | Electoral Area B, Cariboo British Columbia | 4,169 | 63.3 | 76.4 | B− |
| … | |||||
| 26 | Claresholm Alberta | 4,242 | 91.1 | 68.1 | C |
| 27 | Woodlands Manitoba | 4,057 | 100.9 | 127 | C− |
| 28 | Mistissini Quebec | 4,067 | 103.6 | 197.1 | C− |
| 29 | Electoral Area C, Okanagan-Similkameen British Columbia | 4,103 | 113.4 | 144 | C− |
| 30 | Napierville Quebec | 4,187 | 116.5 | 80.3 | C− |
| 31 | Stellarton Nova Scotia | 4,251 | 116.6 | 97.1 | C− |
| 32 | Northern Lights County Alberta | 4,115 | 119.8 | 132.1 | C− |
| … | |||||
| 40 | Swan River Manitoba | 4,048 | 435.7 | 403.3 | 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 Electoral Area C, Okanagan-Similkameen in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
The detachment nearest Electoral Area C, Okanagan-Similkameen, 5,210 residents: around 180 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.
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 C, Okanagan-Similkameen’s index fell 10% from 2023 to 2025
Crime Severity Index
Its highest year was 2023, at 120, and its lowest 2025, at 108. Set beside it, the typical Canadian town its size went from 74.3 in 2023 to 64.2 in 2025.
Every year as a table
| Year | Electoral Area C, Okanagan-Similkameen | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 108 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 112.1 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 120 | 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 Electoral Area C, Okanagan-Similkameen, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Crime in the places around Electoral Area C, Okanagan-Similkameen
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electoral Area C, Okanagan-Similkameen | 4,103 | 113.4 | 144 | C− |
| Oliver | 5,262 | 132.5 | 95.2 | D |
| Osoyoos 1 | 1,484 | — | — | — |
| Electoral Area B, Okanagan-Similkameen | 1,190 | 113.4 | 144 | C− |
| Okanagan Falls | 4,002 | 71.9 | 63.7 | C+ |
| Electoral Area I, Okanagan-Similkameen | 2,372 | 71.9 | 63.7 | C+ |
Electoral Area C, Okanagan-Similkameen sits above 2 of the 3 neighbours with figures of their own. The nearest of them, Okanagan Falls (16.3 km away), scores 71.9 against 113.4. Same police, same number: one neighbour drops out of the comparison for that reason.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What the index measures. 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.”
- 100 is Canada in 2006. Its scale starts from Canada in 2006, set at 100, so a figure above 100 means more serious crime per resident than the country had then.
- Cleared, not convicted. 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.
Questions about safety in Electoral Area C, Okanagan-Similkameen
Is Electoral Area C, Okanagan-Similkameen safe?
Electoral Area C, Okanagan-Similkameen’s Crime Severity Index is 113.4 (2023–2025 mean); its police record 33.9 violent incidents and 39.9 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year. Set that beside 68.5, the median for Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is the most common crime in Electoral Area C, Okanagan-Similkameen?
Assault is the most common, at 20.4 per 1,000 residents a year, then other Criminal Code offences (10.7) and mischief (9.9).
Is crime going up in Electoral Area C, Okanagan-Similkameen?
No: the index fell 10%, from 120 in 2023 to 108 in 2025.
How much of Electoral Area C, Okanagan-Similkameen’s crime do police solve?
The weighted clearance rate is 36%: 70% for violent crime and 16% for non-violent. For the typical Canadian town its size it is 34%.
Whose figures are these?
A shared service or detachment’s, reported as one for Electoral Area C, Okanagan-Similkameen and everywhere else it polices.
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).