Photo: Shawn from Airdrie, Canada · CC BY-SA 2.0More crimes per resident are recorded in Newton than in 76% of Canadian towns
Violence accounts for an index of 75.5 and other offences for 101.5, against usual levels of 75.2 and 54.2. The Safety Grade comes out at C−, drawn from crime the police covering Newton reported through 2023 to 2025: #136 of 251 in British Columbia. By 2025 the index had dropped to 89.1, down from 104.1 in 2023. Typical years here bring 9.7 violent incidents plus 31.0 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents, against 10.8 plus 25.1 in the typical Canadian town of 50,000+.
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. Not measured by town: crime severity and crime rate (the Surrey service area).
What stands out about safety in Newton
A low clearance rate
Police cleared 15% of Newton’s crime, weighted by seriousness (36% of violent crime, 8% of the rest), against 38% across Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more. Questions ↓
Non-violent crime leads the index
Set beside the typical Canadian town of 50,000+, Newton’s two halves part ways: 75.5 for violence (typical 75.2) and 101.5 for the rest (typical 54.2). 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 grade: C− for Newton
How sure: Less sure, since one city-wide figure stands behind it, and Newton can differ a long way from its city’s average.
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: #136 of 251 in British Columbia and #1,836 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.
Surrey’s crime, type by type
These are Surrey’s figures, for its police’s whole area: they aren’t published by neighbourhood.
Against the typical town its size, Surrey runs highest on Cannabis Act offences (2.5 per 1,000 against 0.04), drug offences (4 per 1,000 against 0.9) and robbery (0.5 per 1,000 against 0.4). Sexual assault sits below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 8.7 | 0.02 | 61% |
| Sexual violations against children | 175.7 | 0.3 | 23% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 85.3 | 0.1 | 94% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 21 | 0.04 | 32% |
| Robbery | 304.7 | 0.5 | 29% |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 23 | 0.04 | 75% |
| Other violent violations | 55.3 | 0.1 | 29% |
| Breaking and entering | 1,019.7 | 2 | 9% |
| Possession of stolen property | 117 | 0.2 | 49% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 871.7 | 1.6 | 4% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 289 | 0.6 | 8% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 8,757 | 16.6 | 9% |
| Mischief | 2,447 | 4.5 | 9% |
| Weapons violations | 275 | 0.5 | 43% |
| Administration of justice violations | 888.7 | 1.6 | 75% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 306.7 | 0.6 | 30% |
| Drug violations | 1,855.7 | 4 | 11% |
| Impaired driving | 848.3 | 1.6 | 94% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 384.3 | 0.7 | 13% |
Statistics Canada’s violation groups for the whole police service or detachment: incidents a year are its own, the town’s share is only estimated in the tiles. 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.
Newton, year by year
Crime Severity Index
Its heaviest year came first: 2023, at 104.1, against a low of 87.5 in 2024. Over 2023–2025, the typical Canadian town of 50,000+ moved from 64.3 to 59.2.
Surrey Police Service took over from the RCMP on 29 November 2024. The figures here are the RCMP Surrey detachment’s for 2023–2025, the only full three years; the new service reports 2025 alone.
Every year as a table
| Year | Newton | Typical town of 50,000+ |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 89.1 | 59.2 |
| 2024 | 87.5 | 59.9 |
| 2023 | 104.1 | 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 Newton, each year, against the typical Canadian town of 50,000+.
Crime in the places around Newton
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newton | 51,222 | 93.6 | 75.5 | C− |
| Sullivan | 42,135 | 93.6 | 75.5 | C− |
| Strawberry Hill | 37,037 | 93.6 | 75.5 | C− |
| Panorama Ridge | 36,473 | 93.6 | 75.5 | C− |
| Fleetwood | 63,957 | 93.6 | 75.5 | C− |
| Brownsville | 23,515 | 93.6 | 75.5 | C− |
| Johnston Heights | 30,971 | 93.6 | 75.5 | C− |
6 neighbours report through the same police, so their figure is this one and they aren’t compared.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Cleared, not convicted. A cleared case is one police consider solved. Whether anyone is convicted is a separate matter the rate doesn’t follow.
- What the index measures. 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.”
- The whole city’s numbers. The figures for Newton are city-wide: neighbourhood counts aren’t published as open data here.
- 100 is Canada in 2006. Statistics Canada set the national index at 100 for 2006; every figure here is read against that.
Questions about safety in Newton
Is Newton safe?
Newton measures 93.6 on the Crime Severity Index for 2023–2025, next to 60.3 for Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more. Per 1,000 residents a year, its police record 9.7 violent incidents and 31 property crimes.
What is the most common crime in Newton?
Most often it is theft under $5,000: 16.6 per 1,000 residents a year. Next come other Criminal Code offences at 15.4 and fraud at 5.3.
Is crime going up in Newton?
Over 2023–2025 the index dropped 14%, to 89.1 from 104.1.
How much of Newton’s crime do police solve?
Weighted by seriousness, police cleared 15% of crime (36% of violent crime, 8% of the rest). The typical Canadian town of 50,000+ clears 38%.
Whose figures are these?
The city force’s, one set of figures for the city.
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).