Photo: Mangoandmay · CC BY-SA 4.0More crimes per resident are recorded in Sicamous than in 90% of Canadian towns
Typical years here bring 13.9 violent incidents plus 35.3 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents, against 12.9 plus 31.2 in the typical town its size. Add to that, its Safety Grade is D, on crime the police covering Sicamous reported from 2023 to 2025: #226 of 251 in British Columbia. Violence accounts for an index of 184.8 and other offences for 131.5, against usual levels of 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. Crime severity, crime rate and incident counts: one figure for all of the Sicamous detachment area.
What stands out about safety in Sicamous
A busy place, counted per resident
About 35% of Sicamous’s homes are cottages, second homes or otherwise empty much of the year: crime in the busy months is divided by year-round residents only, which lifts every rate here. How to read it ↓
Heavier than British Columbia’s middle
Sicamous’s index of 145.9 compares with 83.2 for the typical town in British Columbia. Towns its size ↓
A higher index than most towns its size
Of the 40 Canadian towns nearest it in size, Sicamous places 39th from the lowest index. Towns its size ↓
Mischief: high for a town its size
Sicamous records 9.6 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 ↓
Written from Statistics Canada’s police-reported crime by police service and detachment, 2023–2025. Figures are what police recorded, not convictions.
The D for Sicamous, and how it is built
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: #226 of 251 in British Columbia and #2,458 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.
What police record in Sicamous, by type
Against the typical town its size, Sicamous runs highest on drug offences (2.9 per 1,000 against 0.7), mischief (9.6 per 1,000 against 4.9) and motor vehicle theft (4 per 1,000 against 2.6). Theft under $5,000 and break and enter sit below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 1 | 0.2 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 2 | 0.5 | — |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 0.3 | 0.08 | — |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 1.3 | 0.3 | — |
| Robbery | 0.3 | 0.08 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 0 | 0 | — |
| Other violent violations | 0.7 | 0.2 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 8.3 | 1.9 | 16% |
| Possession of stolen property | 5.3 | 1.2 | 57% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 17.3 | 4 | 2% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 7.3 | 1.7 | 0% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 48 | 10.9 | 10% |
| Mischief | 42.3 | 9.6 | 12% |
| Weapons violations | 3 | 0.7 | — |
| Administration of justice violations | 17.7 | 4 | 89% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 5.3 | 1.2 | 43% |
| Drug violations | 12.7 | 2.9 | 76% |
| Impaired driving | 9.3 | 2.1 | 65% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 0.7 | 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 2,500 to 10,000 people.
Sicamous comes 39th of the 40 towns nearest in size
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Perry Ontario | 2,866 | 32.8 | 34.7 | A |
| … | |||||
| 36 | Senneterre Quebec | 2,832 | 103.6 | 183.5 | C− |
| 37 | Harbour Grace Newfoundland and Labrador | 2,872 | 108 | 83.3 | C− |
| 38 | Saint-Anicet Quebec | 2,854 | 120.3 | 141 | D |
| 39 | Sicamous British Columbia | 2,854 | 145.9 | 184.8 | D |
| 40 | Athabasca Alberta | 2,887 | 165 | 138.6 | 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 Sicamous in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
4,440 residents, about 61 violent incidents a year: the police area Sicamous belongs to, 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 160 a year and other violations 160 (2023–2025 average). Of 1,000 dots, one per resident, the coloured ones are a year’s incidents at these rates.
The index in Sicamous, each year
Crime Severity Index
It rose to 188.1 in 2024 before easing, with the low of 103.6 in 2025. The typical Canadian town its size went from 74.3 in 2023 to 64.2 in 2025.
Every year as a table
| Year | Sicamous | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 103.6 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 188.1 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 146 | 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 Sicamous, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Crime in the places around Sicamous
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sicamous | 2,854 | 145.9 | 184.8 | D |
| Electoral Area E, Columbia-Shuswap (9 km) | 1,518 | 145.9 | 184.8 | D |
| Electoral Area F, North Okanagan (22 km) | 4,969 | 62.6 | 70.8 | B− |
| Salmon Arm (24 km) | 20,891 | 92.4 | 66.8 | C |
| Blind Bay (28 km) | 9,984 | 40.8 | 37.4 | A− |
| Electoral Area F, Columbia-Shuswap (29 km) | 3,475 | 80 | 77.4 | C |
Every neighbour with a figure of its own has a lower index than Sicamous. Closest is Electoral Area F, North Okanagan, 22.2 km away, at 62.6 to 145.9 here. Same police, same number: one neighbour drops out of the comparison for that reason.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means. Sicamous has few close neighbours with figures, so the list reaches 9–29 km out.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Few people behind the figures. The police behind these figures serve about 4,437 people, so a handful of incidents moves every rate. Statistics Canada’s note: “Data for police services or detachments with populations less than 5,000 should be used with caution.”
- Shared with the countryside. Detachment figures cover the detachment’s whole area: Sicamous together with the countryside and smaller places it polices.
- 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.
- An index, not a verdict. One robbery outweighs a run of minor thefts here, since every crime counts by the sentences courts give it. Statistics Canada adds: “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.”
Questions about safety in Sicamous
Is Sicamous safe?
On Statistics Canada’s figures, Sicamous scores 145.9 on the Crime Severity Index for 2023–2025, with 13.9 violent and 35.3 property incidents per 1,000 residents a year. The middle of Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people is 68.5.
What is the most common crime in Sicamous?
Most often it is other Criminal Code offences: 17.4 per 1,000 residents a year. Next come theft under $5,000 at 10.9 and mischief at 9.6.
Is crime going up in Sicamous?
Down 29%: 146 in 2023, 103.6 in 2025. With few people or missing years behind it, the change is a rough one.
How much of Sicamous’s crime do police solve?
36%, by the weighted clearance rate, where the typical Canadian town its size manages 34%. Violent crime is cleared at 42% and non-violent crime at 32%.
Whose figures are these?
A police service or detachment that covers Sicamous and other places, so the figures are shared.
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).