Photo: Adam Jones from Kelowna, BC, Canada · CC BY-SA 2.0Per resident, Oliver records more crime than 89% of Canadian towns
Split in two, the index gives 95.2 for violence and 148.5 for everything else (normally 85.7 and 62.8). Its Safety Grade is D, on crime the police covering Oliver reported from 2023 to 2025: #221 of 251 in British Columbia. Year on year, 18.1 violent incidents and 54.9 incidents of property crime occur per 1,000 residents, compared with 12.9 and 31.2 in the typical town its size. All 3 towns next door 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 Oliver
Mischief: high for a town its size
Oliver records 16.4 incidents of mischief per 1,000 residents a year, against 4.9 in the typical town among Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people. By type ↓
Easing since 2023
Oliver’s index went from 180.5 in 2023 to 112.6 in 2025; the typical Canadian town its size moved from 74.3 to 64.2. Year by year ↓
The non-violent half stands out
Oliver’s index splits into violent crime, 95.2 here and 85.7 for the typical Canadian town its size, and everything else, 148.5 against 62.8. By type ↓
A higher index than most towns its size
Set among the 40 Canadian towns closest to it in population, Oliver comes 39th, counting from the lowest Crime Severity 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 sits behind Oliver’s D
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: #221 of 251 in British Columbia and #2,444 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.
Oliver’s index fell 38% from 2023 to 2025
Crime Severity Index
Its index has not been as high since 2023 (180.5); the low point came in 2024, at 104.3. 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 | Oliver | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 112.6 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 104.3 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 180.5 | 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 Oliver, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
What police record in Oliver, by type
Against the typical town its size, Oliver runs highest on mischief (16.4 per 1,000 against 4.9), drug offences (1.9 per 1,000 against 0.7) and motor vehicle theft (4.8 per 1,000 against 2.6).
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0 | 0 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 4 | 0.8 | — |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 1 | 0.2 | — |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 1.7 | 0.3 | — |
| Robbery | 0.3 | 0.06 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 0 | 0 | — |
| Other violent violations | 2 | 0.4 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 24.3 | 4.6 | 16% |
| Possession of stolen property | 5 | 1 | 34% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 25 | 4.8 | 9% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 3.7 | 0.7 | — |
| Theft under $5,000 | 98.7 | 18.8 | 16% |
| Mischief | 86.3 | 16.4 | 13% |
| Weapons violations | 3 | 0.6 | — |
| Administration of justice violations | 14.3 | 2.7 | 58% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 8.7 | 1.6 | 49% |
| Drug violations | 10 | 1.9 | 40% |
| Impaired driving | 22.7 | 4.3 | 54% |
| 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.
Among 40 towns its size, Oliver places 39th
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Norwood Ontario | 5,308 | 25.2 | 31.4 | A+ |
| 2 | Electoral Area H, Central Kootenay British Columbia | 5,390 | 35.8 | 32 | A |
| 3 | Electoral Area B, Central Kootenay British Columbia | 5,243 | 36.8 | 46.9 | A |
| 4 | Metchosin British Columbia | 5,207 | 40.7 | 41.3 | A− |
| … | |||||
| 10 | Electoral Area A, Cowichan Valley British Columbia | 5,156 | 49.9 | 52.5 | B+ |
| … | |||||
| 36 | Kneehill County Alberta | 5,129 | 110.8 | 105.9 | C− |
| 37 | Antigonish Nova Scotia | 5,175 | 115.4 | 123.5 | C− |
| 38 | Westlock Alberta | 5,363 | 129.8 | 116.4 | D |
| 39 | Oliver British Columbia | 5,262 | 132.5 | 95.2 | D |
| 40 | Big Lakes County Alberta | 5,106 | 167.3 | 179 | 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 Oliver in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Police in Oliver recorded about 95 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.
Property crime adds about 290 a year and other violations 180 (2023–2025 average). Of 1,000 dots, one per resident, the coloured ones are a year’s incidents at these rates.
Crime in the places around Oliver
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 B, Okanagan-Similkameen | 1,190 | 113.4 | 144 | C− |
| Osoyoos | 5,724 | 97.9 | 68.6 | C− |
Every neighbour with a figure of its own has a lower index than Oliver. Closest is Electoral Area C, Okanagan-Similkameen, 3.6 km away, at 113.4 to 132.5 here.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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. 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.
- What clearance means. 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 Oliver
Is Oliver safe?
Its police recorded 18.1 violent incidents and 54.9 property crimes a year per 1,000 residents over 2023–2025, which gives Oliver a Crime Severity Index of 132.5. Set that beside 68.5, the median for Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is the most common crime in Oliver?
Other Criminal Code offences is the most common, at 22.5 per 1,000 residents a year, then theft under $5,000 (18.8) and mischief (16.4).
Is crime going up in Oliver?
Down 38%: 180.5 in 2023, 112.6 in 2025.
How much of Oliver’s crime do police solve?
About 22% of crime is cleared, weighted by seriousness, with 48% of violent and 15% of other crime; the figure for the typical Canadian town its size is 34%.
Whose figures are these?
They are Oliver’s own: its police cover the town and no other.
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).