Photo: Sam Beebe · CC BY 2.0Prince Rupert sees more crime per resident than 93% of Canadian towns
Its weighted clearance rate, the share of crime police solved, is 45% (the typical Canadian town its size: 33%). The Safety Grade comes out at D, drawn from crime the police covering Prince Rupert reported through 2023 to 2025: #238 of 251 in British Columbia. Year on year, 44.9 violent incidents and 62.0 incidents of property crime occur per 1,000 residents, compared with 12.0 and 30.5 in the typical town its size. Of the two halves, violence comes to 292.9 and other offences to 143.7, beside norms of 89.4 and 56.
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 Prince Rupert
Mischief: high for a town its size
Prince Rupert records 32.8 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 most of British Columbia
Within British Columbia, the median town comes to 83.2 on the index, against 185.2 in Prince Rupert. Towns its size ↓
Easing since 2023
In 2023 the index in Prince Rupert stood at 218.6, by 2025 at 165.6. Over the same years the typical Canadian town its size went from 69.5 to 60. Year by year ↓
A higher index than most towns its size
Line up the 40 Canadian towns nearest in size by their index and Prince Rupert stands 36th, the lowest first. 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 Prince Rupert’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: #238 of 251 in British Columbia and #2,490 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 Prince Rupert, by type
Against the typical town its size, Prince Rupert runs highest on mischief (32.8 per 1,000 against 3.7), assault (25.2 per 1,000 against 6.6) and drug offences (2.8 per 1,000 against 0.8). Motor vehicle theft sits below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 1.3 | 0.1 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 21.7 | 1.7 | 57% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 25.7 | 2 | 100% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 0.3 | 0.03 | — |
| Robbery | 8 | 0.6 | 79% |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 4.7 | 0.4 | — |
| Other violent violations | 7.3 | 0.6 | 41% |
| Breaking and entering | 33.3 | 2.6 | 33% |
| Possession of stolen property | 6 | 0.5 | 62% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 11.3 | 0.9 | 47% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 10 | 0.8 | 17% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 226.7 | 17.6 | 28% |
| Mischief | 422.3 | 32.8 | 47% |
| Weapons violations | 9.3 | 0.7 | 68% |
| Administration of justice violations | 159.3 | 12.4 | 73% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 39.3 | 3.1 | 73% |
| Drug violations | 36 | 2.8 | 24% |
| Impaired driving | 77.7 | 6 | 65% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 2.3 | 0.2 | — |
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.
In Prince Rupert, down 24% between 2023 and 2025
Crime Severity Index
Its index has not been as high since 2023 (218.6); the low point came in 2025, at 165.6. The comparison line, the typical Canadian town its size, runs from 69.5 in 2023 to 60 by 2025.
Every year as a table
| Year | Prince Rupert | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 165.6 | 60 |
| 2024 | 171.5 | 67.9 |
| 2023 | 218.6 | 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 Prince Rupert, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Among 40 towns its size, Prince Rupert places 36th
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rothesay New Brunswick | 12,626 | 20 | 27.9 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 11 | North Saanich British Columbia | 12,986 | 37.5 | 32.9 | 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 |
| … | |||||
| 33 | Bathurst New Brunswick | 13,331 | 108.4 | 151.1 | C− |
| 34 | Lac Ste. Anne County Alberta | 12,639 | 120 | 99.2 | D |
| 35 | Terrace British Columbia | 13,648 | 174.6 | 155 | D |
| 36 | Prince Rupert British Columbia | 12,903 | 185.2 | 292.9 | D |
| 37 | Bonnyville No. 87 Alberta | 13,265 | 197.6 | 183.7 | D |
| 38 | Lloydminster (Part) Saskatchewan | 13,137 | 211.6 | 177.2 | D |
| 39 | Dawson Creek British Columbia | 13,635 | 213.1 | 300.4 | 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 Prince Rupert in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Prince Rupert’s police: about 580 violent incidents a year over 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 800 property crimes and 680 other violations a year (2023–2025 average). The grid is 1,000 residents, a coloured dot for each incident a year at these rates.
Crime in the places around Prince Rupert
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prince Rupert | 12,903 | 185.2 | 292.9 | D |
| Kitimat (112 km) | 10,019 | 100.8 | 107.1 | C− |
| Terrace (113 km) | 13,648 | 174.6 | 155 | D |
| Electoral Area C (Part 1), Kitimat-Stikine (114 km) | 3,189 | 53.7 | 75.4 | B |
| Electoral Area E, Kitimat-Stikine (117 km) | 4,153 | 53.7 | 75.4 | B |
The places around Prince Rupert all score lower on the index. The nearest of them, Kitimat (112.2 km away), scores 100.8 against 185.2.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means. No closer places have figures: these lie 112–117 km from Prince Rupert.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What the index measures. 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.
- 100 is Canada in 2006. A reading of 100 is the whole country in 2006. Half of that, 50, means half the severity per resident.
- Cleared, not convicted. Weighted like the index, so solving one assault counts for more than solving a mischief; a charge laid, recommended or otherwise resolved all count.
Questions about safety in Prince Rupert
Is Prince Rupert safe?
Prince Rupert’s Crime Severity Index is 185.2 (2023–2025 mean); its police record 44.9 violent incidents and 62 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year. Set that beside 66, the median for Canadian towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people.
What is the most common crime in Prince Rupert?
Other Criminal Code offences is the most common, at 42.3 per 1,000 residents a year, then mischief (32.8) and assault (25.2).
Is crime going up in Prince Rupert?
It went down 24% between 2023 and 2025, from 218.6 to 165.6.
How much of Prince Rupert’s crime do police solve?
Police cleared 45% of crime once each incident is weighted by seriousness: 61% of violent crime and 31% of the rest, against 33% for the typical Canadian town its size.
Whose figures are these?
A police service or contract that serves Prince Rupert 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).