Photo: Canuckle · CC0Recorded crime per resident is higher in Richmond than in 86% of Canadian towns
On crime the police covering Richmond reported from 2023 to 2025, it grades D for safety: #214 of 251 in British Columbia. Out of every 1,000 residents, 9.0 violent incidents and 32.6 incidents of property crime are reported annually, against 10.8 and 25.1 in the typical town its size. Split in two, the index gives 59.7 for violence and 151.2 for everything else (normally 75.2 and 54.2). Within British Columbia, half the towns score under 83.2.
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 Richmond
Drug offences: high for a town its size
Richmond records 17 incidents of drug offences per 1,000 residents a year, against 0.9 in the typical town among Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more. By type ↓
Heavier than in 2023
From 101.2 in 2023 to 151.8 in 2025: that is Richmond’s index, against 64.3 and 59.2 for the typical Canadian town its size. Year by year ↓
The non-violent half stands out
Richmond’s index splits into violent crime, 59.7 here and 75.2 for the typical Canadian town its size, and everything else, 151.2 against 54.2. By type ↓
Less crime solved
For Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more the typical clearance rate is 38%; Richmond’s police clear 13%, 36% of violent crime and 10% of the rest. Questions ↓
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 Richmond’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: #214 of 251 in British Columbia and #2,281 of 2,572 Canadian towns.
The Crime Severity Index and its two halves, beside the typical figure for Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more.
Richmond’s index rose 50% from 2023 to 2025
Crime Severity Index
2025, the last year shown, came out highest at 151.8, and 2023 lowest at 101.2. Over 2023–2025, the typical Canadian town its size moved from 64.3 to 59.2.
Every year as a table
| Year | Richmond | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 151.8 | 59.2 |
| 2024 | 119.9 | 59.9 |
| 2023 | 101.2 | 64.3 |
Statistics Canada, Crime Severity Index by police service, each year as published. Typical: the median of Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more.
The Crime Severity Index of the police covering Richmond, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
What police record in Richmond, by type
Against the typical town its size, Richmond runs highest on Cannabis Act offences (6.4 per 1,000 against 0.04), drug offences (17 per 1,000 against 0.9) and theft under $5,000 (16.7 per 1,000 against 11.5). Assault and motor vehicle theft sit below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 2.3 | 0.01 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 53.7 | 0.2 | 19% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 32.7 | 0.1 | 98% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 10.7 | 0.05 | 25% |
| Robbery | 69 | 0.3 | 38% |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 17 | 0.07 | 57% |
| Other violent violations | 30 | 0.1 | 37% |
| Breaking and entering | 622 | 2.6 | 12% |
| Possession of stolen property | 198.3 | 0.8 | 15% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 255.3 | 1.1 | 6% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 254 | 1.1 | 8% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 3,996.7 | 16.7 | 13% |
| Mischief | 1,260 | 5.3 | 12% |
| Weapons violations | 482 | 2 | 36% |
| Administration of justice violations | 271.7 | 1.1 | 75% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 228 | 1 | 29% |
| Drug violations | 4,082.3 | 17 | 4% |
| Impaired driving | 243 | 1 | 69% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 192 | 0.8 | 29% |
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 50,000 people or more.
Richmond is 36th of 40 towns its size, lowest index first
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oakville Ontario | 243,107 | 31.4 | 28.3 | A |
| … | |||||
| 5 | Saanich British Columbia | 126,011 | 40.5 | 49.7 | A− |
| … | |||||
| 19 | Delta British Columbia | 124,670 | 59.7 | 69.8 | B− |
| 20 | Coquitlam British Columbia | 173,599 | 59.8 | 61.6 | B− |
| … | |||||
| 31 | Langley British Columbia | 163,885 | 82.4 | 77.3 | C |
| … | |||||
| 33 | Abbotsford British Columbia | 175,358 | 96 | 107.5 | C− |
| 34 | Thunder Bay Ontario | 117,671 | 113.6 | 209.7 | C− |
| 35 | Nanaimo British Columbia | 111,845 | 121.6 | 127.7 | D |
| 36 | Richmond British Columbia | 239,584 | 124.3 | 59.7 | D |
| 37 | Kelowna British Columbia | 167,654 | 125.5 | 119.7 | D |
| 38 | Red Deer Alberta | 115,409 | 126.8 | 134.3 | D |
| 39 | Lethbridge Alberta | 113,671 | 128.5 | 142 | D |
| 40 | Kamloops British Columbia | 108,793 | 148.2 | 134.8 | 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 Richmond in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Richmond’s police: about 2,150 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 7,780 property crimes and 8,700 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 Richmond
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richmond | 239,584 | 124.3 | 59.7 | D |
| Marpole | 28,182 | 93.4 | 99.3 | C− |
| Oakridge | 14,071 | 93.4 | 99.3 | C− |
| Sunset | 37,186 | 93.4 | 99.3 | C− |
| Kerrisdale | 14,105 | 93.4 | 99.3 | C− |
| Victoria-Fraserview | 31,095 | 93.4 | 99.3 | C− |
| Musqueam 2 | 1,879 | — | — | — |
Each neighbour with its own figure comes in under Richmond. Marpole, 6 km away, is the nearest lower one, at 93.4 to 124.3.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Solved cases. Police clear an incident by charging someone, recommending a charge, or closing it another way. The rate weighs serious crimes more, as the index does.
- How serious, not how safe. Each incident counts by its seriousness, judged from court sentences, and the total is set per resident. As Statistics Canada puts it, “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.”
- Reading the number. 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 Richmond
Is Richmond safe?
Statistics Canada puts Richmond at 124.3 on its Crime Severity Index over 2023–2025; Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more sit at 60.3 in the middle. Violent incidents run at 9 and property crimes at 32.6 per 1,000 residents a year.
What is the most common crime in Richmond?
Most often it is drug offences: 17 per 1,000 residents a year. Next come theft under $5,000 at 16.7 and other Criminal Code offences at 15.8.
Is crime going up in Richmond?
Yes: the index rose 50%, from 101.2 in 2023 to 151.8 in 2025.
How much of Richmond’s crime do police solve?
13%, by the weighted clearance rate, where the typical Canadian town its size manages 38%. Violent crime is cleared at 36% and non-violent crime at 10%.
Whose figures are these?
They are Richmond’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).