Photo: Buiobuione · CC BY-SA 4.0More crimes per resident are recorded in Tofino than in 85% of Canadian towns
Violence accounts for an index of 205.8 and other offences for 83.1, against usual levels of 85.7 and 62.8. Its letter for safety is C−, worked out from crime the police covering Tofino reported over 2023 to 2025: #213 of 251 in British Columbia. Per 1,000 residents a year, 29.5 violent incidents and 37.2 incidents of property crime were recorded, 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. Area-wide: crime severity, crime rate and incident counts, counted over the Tofino detachment area.
What stands out about safety in Tofino
More people here than live here
Tofino draws far more visitors than it has residents, and the crime they are part of is divided by residents alone, so its rates run high for the people who live there. How to read it ↓
Mischief: high for a town its size
Tofino records 22.9 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 ↓
More crime solved
Police cleared 54% of Tofino’s crime, weighted by seriousness (66% of violent crime, 42% of the rest), against 34% across Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people. Questions ↓
A higher index than most towns its size
Counting up from the lowest index, Tofino is 36th of the 40 Canadian towns closest in population. 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.
What’s behind Tofino’s grade
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: #213 of 251 in British Columbia and #2,227 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.
Tofino’s crime by kind
Against the typical town its size, Tofino runs highest on mischief (22.9 per 1,000 against 4.9), sexual assault (3.9 per 1,000 against 0.9) and assault (18.3 per 1,000 against 6.7). Fraud and theft under $5,000 sit below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0.3 | 0.08 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 4.7 | 1 | — |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 3.7 | 0.8 | — |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 0 | 0 | — |
| Robbery | 1 | 0.2 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 0.3 | 0.07 | — |
| Other violent violations | 1 | 0.2 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 10.3 | 2.3 | 55% |
| Possession of stolen property | 0.7 | 0.1 | — |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 5 | 1.1 | 60% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 1 | 0.2 | — |
| Theft under $5,000 | 30.3 | 6.8 | 17% |
| Mischief | 102.3 | 22.9 | 61% |
| Weapons violations | 1 | 0.2 | — |
| Administration of justice violations | 62.3 | 14 | 90% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 5.3 | 1.2 | 75% |
| Drug violations | 2.3 | 0.5 | — |
| Impaired driving | 26.7 | 6 | 42% |
| 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.
Tofino comes 36th of the 40 towns nearest in size
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rivière-Beaudette Quebec | 2,806 | 39.2 | 61.7 | A |
| … | |||||
| 4 | Electoral Area I, Central Kootenay British Columbia | 2,758 | 42.4 | 50.5 | A− |
| … | |||||
| 18 | Cultus Lake British Columbia | 2,773 | 71.6 | 60.2 | C+ |
| … | |||||
| 28 | Electoral Area H, Cowichan Valley British Columbia | 2,761 | 87 | 109.6 | C |
| … | |||||
| 30 | Highlands British Columbia | 2,753 | 92.7 | 168.2 | C |
| … | |||||
| 33 | Senneterre Quebec | 2,832 | 103.6 | 183.5 | C− |
| 34 | Waskaganish Quebec | 2,726 | 103.6 | 197.1 | C− |
| 35 | Wakefield New Brunswick | 2,749 | 109.1 | 122.4 | C− |
| 36 | Tofino British Columbia | 2,772 | 117.4 | 205.8 | C− |
| 37 | Electoral Area E, Peace River British Columbia | 2,737 | 139.5 | 210.6 | D |
| 38 | Russell Manitoba | 2,715 | 170 | 183.3 | D |
| 39 | Meadow Lake No. 588 Saskatchewan | 2,712 | 243 | 329.2 | D |
| 40 | Kuujjuaq Quebec | 2,766 | 805.8 | 2,056.5 | 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 Tofino in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Around 130 violent incidents a year in the 4,500-resident police area around Tofino, 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.
And about 170 property crimes, plus 240 other violations, a year (2023–2025 average). Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot, one incident a year at the area’s rates.
Tofino’s index, one year at a time
Crime Severity Index
It rose to 148.6 in 2024 before easing, with the low of 100.8 in 2023. Set beside it, the typical Canadian town its size went from 74.3 in 2023 to 64.2 in 2025.
Every year as a table
| Year | Tofino | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 102.8 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 148.6 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 100.8 | 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 Tofino, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Crime in the places around Tofino
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tofino | 2,772 | 117.4 | 205.8 | C− |
| Electoral Area C, Alberni-Clayoquot (22 km) | 1,009 | 103.3 | 98.3 | C− |
| Ucluelet (35 km) | 2,452 | 103.3 | 98.3 | C− |
| Electoral Area D, Alberni-Clayoquot (70 km) | 1,875 | 48.6 | 69.1 | B+ |
| Electoral Area E, Alberni-Clayoquot (79 km) | 3,069 | 48.6 | 69.1 | B+ |
The places around Tofino all score lower on the index. The nearest of them, Electoral Area C, Alberni-Clayoquot (21.9 km away), scores 103.3 against 117.4.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means. Distances here run 22–79 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Tofino.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- A small police area. The police behind these figures serve about 4,495 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.”
- A detachment’s area. An RCMP or OPP detachment reports one set of figures for everywhere it polices, so Tofino’s are shared with its surroundings.
- 100 is Canada in 2006. Figures are relative to one fixed point, Canada in 2006 at 100, rather than to this year’s national number.
- 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. 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 Tofino
Is Tofino safe?
With 29.5 violent incidents and 37.2 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, Tofino comes to 117.4 on the Crime Severity Index (2023–2025); Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people have a median of 68.5.
What is the most common crime in Tofino?
Other Criminal Code offences is the most common, at 42.1 per 1,000 residents a year, then mischief (22.9) and assault (18.3).
Is crime going up in Tofino?
Not much: the index went from 100.8 in 2023 to 102.8 in 2025. The police area is small or partly reported, so treat the change with care.
How much of Tofino’s crime do police solve?
Weighted by seriousness, police cleared 54% of crime (66% of violent crime, 42% of the rest). The typical Canadian town its size clears 34%.
Whose figures are these?
A police service or detachment that covers Tofino 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).