Photo: Asahel Curtis · Public domainCrime per resident in Quesnel runs higher than in 95% of Canadian towns
Split in two, the index gives 243.5 for violence and 290.9 for everything else (normally 89.4 and 56). Typical years here bring 53.1 violent incidents plus 132.6 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents, against 12.0 plus 30.5 in the typical town its size. On top of that, the grade is D, built on crime the police covering Quesnel reported from 2023 to 2025: #246 of 251 in British Columbia. All 4 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 Quesnel
Mischief: high for a town its size
Quesnel records 66.8 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 ↓
Heavier than British Columbia’s middle
Within British Columbia, the median town comes to 83.2 on the index, against 275.7 in Quesnel. Towns its size ↓
A higher index than most towns its size
Line up the 40 Canadian towns nearest in size by their index and Quesnel stands 39th, the lowest first. Towns its size ↓
Property and other crime weigh more
Quesnel’s index splits into violent crime, 243.5 here and 89.4 for the typical Canadian town its size, and everything else, 290.9 against 56. By type ↓
Written from Statistics Canada’s police-reported crime by police service and detachment, 2023–2025. Figures are what police recorded, not convictions.
Quesnel: D for safety, and why
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: #246 of 251 in British Columbia and #2,522 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 Quesnel, by type
Against the typical town its size, Quesnel runs highest on mischief (66.8 per 1,000 against 3.7), drug offences (6.6 per 1,000 against 0.8) and assault (26.5 per 1,000 against 6.6).
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0.3 | 0.03 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 8 | 0.8 | 25% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 10 | 1 | 100% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 0.3 | 0.03 | — |
| Robbery | 14.7 | 1.4 | 61% |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 1.3 | 0.1 | — |
| Other violent violations | 6.3 | 0.6 | 43% |
| Breaking and entering | 82 | 8 | 24% |
| Possession of stolen property | 26.7 | 2.6 | 42% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 41.7 | 4.1 | 14% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 10 | 1 | 7% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 411.7 | 40.3 | 19% |
| Mischief | 683 | 66.8 | 25% |
| Weapons violations | 28 | 2.7 | 58% |
| Administration of justice violations | 306.7 | 30 | 83% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 43.7 | 4.3 | 54% |
| Drug violations | 67.3 | 6.6 | 63% |
| Impaired driving | 74.7 | 7.3 | 71% |
| 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.
Quesnel comes 39th of the 40 towns nearest in size
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beckwith Ontario | 10,073 | 20.5 | 25.5 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 13 | Blind Bay British Columbia | 9,984 | 40.8 | 37.4 | A− |
| … | |||||
| 18 | Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley British Columbia | 9,803 | 49.5 | 61.5 | B+ |
| … | |||||
| 21 | Shawnigan British Columbia | 9,903 | 49.9 | 52.5 | B+ |
| … | |||||
| 31 | Ladysmith British Columbia | 9,926 | 77.3 | 70.2 | C+ |
| … | |||||
| 36 | Hinton Alberta | 10,124 | 137.3 | 109.5 | D |
| 37 | Whitecourt Alberta | 10,708 | 146.3 | 128.4 | D |
| 38 | Amherst Nova Scotia | 10,072 | 149.6 | 131.2 | D |
| 39 | Quesnel British Columbia | 10,253 | 275.7 | 243.5 | D |
| 40 | Wheatland County Alberta | 10,150 | 298.8 | 486.4 | 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 Quesnel in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
From 2023 to 2025, Quesnel’s index dropped 20%
Crime Severity Index
The first year, 2023, was the heaviest at 318.7, and 2025 the lightest at 253.7. 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 | Quesnel | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 253.7 | 60 |
| 2024 | 254.7 | 67.9 |
| 2023 | 318.7 | 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 Quesnel, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Around 540 violent incidents a year on Quesnel’s police records (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 1,360 property crimes and 930 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 Quesnel
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quesnel | 10,253 | 275.7 | 243.5 | D |
| Electoral Area A, Cariboo | 6,172 | 63.3 | 76.4 | B− |
| Electoral Area I, Cariboo | 1,707 | 63.3 | 76.4 | B− |
| Electoral Area C, Cariboo | 1,289 | 63.3 | 76.4 | B− |
| Electoral Area B, Cariboo | 4,169 | 63.3 | 76.4 | B− |
Each neighbour with its own figure comes in under Quesnel. Electoral Area A, Cariboo, 5.5 km away, is the nearest lower one, at 63.3 to 275.7.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Solved cases. Weighted like the index, so solving one assault counts for more than solving a mischief; a charge laid, recommended or otherwise resolved all count.
- How serious, not how safe. Police-reported incidents, each multiplied by a weight drawn from court sentences, summed and divided by the population: that is the index, and its makers attach a caution, “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.”
- Reading the number. A reading of 100 is the whole country in 2006. Half of that, 50, means half the severity per resident.
Questions about safety in Quesnel
Is Quesnel safe?
Statistics Canada puts Quesnel at 275.7 on its Crime Severity Index over 2023–2025; Canadian towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people sit at 66 in the middle. Violent incidents run at 53.1 and property crimes at 132.6 per 1,000 residents a year.
What is the most common crime in Quesnel?
Other Criminal Code offences is the most common, at 71.4 per 1,000 residents a year, then mischief (66.8) and theft under $5,000 (40.3).
Is crime going up in Quesnel?
Over 2023–2025 the index dropped 20%, to 253.7 from 318.7.
How much of Quesnel’s crime do police solve?
Police cleared 34% of crime once each incident is weighted by seriousness: 50% of violent crime and 30% of the rest, against 33% for the typical Canadian town its size.
Whose figures are these?
Its own police: the service or contract that covers Quesnel and nowhere else.
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).