Photo: Rod Lafond · CC BY 3.0More crimes per resident are recorded in Sparwood than in 66% of Canadian towns
Violence accounts for an index of 121.6 and other offences for 63.6, against usual levels of 85.7 and 62.8. Its letter for safety is C, worked out from crime the police covering Sparwood reported over 2023 to 2025: #115 of 251 in British Columbia. Out of every 1,000 residents, 14.6 violent incidents and 22.2 incidents of property crime are reported annually, against 12.9 and 31.2 in the typical town its size.
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. Data for crime severity, crime rate and incident counts covers the Sparwood detachment area.
What stands out about safety in Sparwood
Higher than many towns its size
Set among the 40 Canadian towns closest to it in population, Sparwood comes 28th, counting from the lowest Crime Severity Index. Towns its size ↓
Police clear less here
Weighted by seriousness, 21% of crime in Sparwood ends in a charge or is otherwise solved: 26% of violent crime and 19% of the rest. Across Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people the figure is 34%. Questions ↓
Heavier on violence
Violent crime scores 121.6 on Sparwood’s index against 85.7 for the typical Canadian town its size; non-violent crime, 63.6 against 62.8. By type ↓
Much like British Columbia’s towns
The typical British Columbia town scores 83.2; Sparwood, 79.7. 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.
The grade: C for Sparwood
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: #115 of 251 in British Columbia and #1,630 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.
Which crimes make up Sparwood’s figures
Against the typical town its size, Sparwood runs highest on mischief (6.5 per 1,000 against 4.9). Motor vehicle theft and theft under $5,000 sit below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0.7 | 0.1 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 3.3 | 0.7 | — |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 0 | 0 | — |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 0.3 | 0.07 | — |
| Robbery | 0 | 0 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 1 | 0.2 | — |
| Other violent violations | 1.3 | 0.3 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 12.7 | 2.6 | 8% |
| Possession of stolen property | 3 | 0.6 | — |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 6 | 1.2 | 5% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 4.3 | 0.9 | — |
| Theft under $5,000 | 25.7 | 5.2 | 11% |
| Mischief | 32 | 6.5 | 19% |
| Weapons violations | 3.3 | 0.7 | — |
| Administration of justice violations | 17.3 | 3.5 | 68% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 5.7 | 1.1 | 30% |
| Drug violations | 2.7 | 0.5 | — |
| Impaired driving | 23.7 | 4.8 | 70% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 0.3 | 0.07 | — |
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.
Sparwood is 28th of 40 towns its size, lowest index first
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bowen Island British Columbia | 4,501 | 24.4 | 16.3 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 5 | Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay British Columbia | 4,309 | 35.8 | 32 | A |
| … | |||||
| 22 | Rossland British Columbia | 4,355 | 63.8 | 58.3 | B− |
| … | |||||
| 24 | Golden British Columbia | 4,433 | 65.5 | 44.5 | B− |
| 25 | Caraquet New Brunswick | 4,572 | 67.1 | 81.5 | B− |
| 26 | Jasper Alberta | 4,627 | 67.7 | 60.8 | B− |
| 27 | Saint-Ambroise-de-Kildare Quebec | 4,615 | 68.5 | 107.8 | B− |
| 28 | Sparwood British Columbia | 4,486 | 79.7 | 121.6 | C |
| 29 | Electoral Area P (Rivers and the Peaks), Thompson-Nicola British Columbia | 4,540 | 80 | 77.4 | C |
| 30 | Oka Quebec | 4,312 | 83 | 129.3 | C |
| 31 | Shelburne Nova Scotia | 4,542 | 83.2 | 118.8 | C |
| … | |||||
| 40 | Battleford Saskatchewan | 4,657 | 349.1 | 479.8 | 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 Sparwood in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
The police area Sparwood is part of, 4,900 residents, recorded about 72 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.
Add about 110 property crimes and 88 other violations a year (2023–2025 average). The grid is 1,000 residents, a coloured dot for each incident a year at these rates.
Sparwood’s index, one year at a time
Crime Severity Index
2023 opened the run as its heaviest year (92.6); 2024 was the lightest, at 57.1. In the same years the typical Canadian town its size read 74.3 (2023), then 64.2 (2025).
Every year as a table
| Year | Sparwood | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 89.5 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 57.1 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 92.6 | 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 Sparwood, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Crime in the places around Sparwood
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sparwood | 4,486 | 79.7 | 121.6 | C |
| Electoral Area A, East Kootenay (18 km) | 2,092 | 54.7 | 67.3 | B |
| Fernie (29 km) | 7,086 | 69.5 | 65.2 | C+ |
| Elkford (31 km) | 3,030 | 48.2 | 67.7 | B+ |
| Crowsnest Pass (34 km) | 6,011 | 80.2 | 94.5 | C |
Sparwood sits above 3 of the 4 neighbours with figures of their own. Electoral Area A, East Kootenay, 17.9 km away, is the nearest lower one, at 54.7 to 79.7.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means. No closer places have figures: these lie 18–34 km from Sparwood.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Town and surroundings together. Detachment figures cover the detachment’s whole area: Sparwood together with the countryside and smaller places it polices.
- Reading the number. A reading of 100 is the whole country in 2006. Half of that, 50, means half the severity per resident.
- 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. 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.
- A small police area. About 4,898 people live in the area these figures cover; at that size one bad year shows up large. Statistics Canada says: “Data for police services or detachments with populations less than 5,000 should be used with caution.”
Questions about safety in Sparwood
Is Sparwood safe?
Sparwood measures 79.7 on the Crime Severity Index for 2023–2025, next to 68.5 for Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people. Per 1,000 residents a year, its police record 14.6 violent incidents and 22.2 property crimes.
What is the most common crime in Sparwood?
Other Criminal Code offences is the most common, at 10.8 per 1,000 residents a year, then mischief (6.5) and assault (5.9).
Is crime going up in Sparwood?
It held about level between 2023 and 2025, 92.6 to 89.5. With few people or missing years behind it, the change is a rough one.
How much of Sparwood’s crime do police solve?
Weighted by seriousness, police cleared 21% of crime (26% of violent crime, 19% of the rest). The typical Canadian town its size clears 34%.
Whose figures are these?
A shared service or detachment’s, reported as one for Sparwood and everywhere else it polices.
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).