Photo: Bell and Jeff from Wellington, New Zealand · CC BY 2.0Vanderhoof has more crime per resident than 87% of Canadian towns
On crime the police covering Vanderhoof reported from 2023 to 2025, it grades D for safety: #216 of 251 in British Columbia. Annual rates stand at 33.5 violent incidents and 45.1 incidents of property crime for every thousand residents, next to 12.9 and 31.2 in the typical town its size. Of the two halves, violence comes to 178.5 and other offences to 106.7, beside norms 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 published for the Vanderhoof detachment area, not by town.
What stands out about safety in Vanderhoof
Mischief: high for a town its size
Vanderhoof records 23.6 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 ↓
Above British Columbia’s typical town
Within British Columbia, the median town comes to 83.2 on the index, against 126.5 in Vanderhoof. Towns its size ↓
A higher index than most towns its size
Line up the 40 Canadian towns nearest in size by their index and Vanderhoof stands 34th, the lowest first. Towns its size ↓
Less severe than in 2023
Vanderhoof’s index went from 143.9 in 2023 to 115.5 in 2025; the typical Canadian town its size moved from 74.3 to 64.2. Year by year ↓
Written from Statistics Canada’s police-reported crime by police service and detachment, 2023–2025. Figures are what police recorded, not convictions.
Inside Vanderhoof’s D for safety
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: #216 of 251 in British Columbia and #2,296 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 Vanderhoof, by type
Against the typical town its size, Vanderhoof runs highest on mischief (23.6 per 1,000 against 4.9), drug offences (2.1 per 1,000 against 0.7) and assault (14.7 per 1,000 against 6.7). Theft under $5,000 and motor vehicle theft sit below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0.7 | 0.08 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 5.3 | 0.6 | 32% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 6.7 | 0.8 | 100% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 1.7 | 0.2 | — |
| Robbery | 0.7 | 0.08 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 1.3 | 0.2 | — |
| Other violent violations | 2 | 0.2 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 31.3 | 3.7 | 18% |
| Possession of stolen property | 4.7 | 0.5 | — |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 14 | 1.6 | 21% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 3.3 | 0.4 | — |
| Theft under $5,000 | 84.7 | 9.9 | 18% |
| Mischief | 202 | 23.6 | 21% |
| Weapons violations | 4.7 | 0.5 | — |
| Administration of justice violations | 83.7 | 9.8 | 68% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 14 | 1.6 | 26% |
| Drug violations | 18 | 2.1 | 24% |
| Impaired driving | 47 | 5.5 | 82% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 1.3 | 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.
Vanderhoof’s index fell 20% from 2023 to 2025
Crime Severity Index
2023 opened the run as its heaviest year (143.9); 2025 was the lightest, at 115.5. For the typical Canadian town its size, 2023 gave 74.3 and 2025 gave 64.2.
Every year as a table
| Year | Vanderhoof | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 115.5 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 120 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 143.9 | 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 Vanderhoof, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Vanderhoof comes 34th of the 40 towns nearest in size
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bowen Island British Columbia | 4,501 | 24.4 | 16.3 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 20 | Electoral Area B, Nanaimo British Columbia | 4,702 | 58.9 | 58.4 | B− |
| … | |||||
| 24 | Golden British Columbia | 4,433 | 65.5 | 44.5 | B− |
| … | |||||
| 28 | Sparwood British Columbia | 4,486 | 79.7 | 121.6 | C |
| … | |||||
| 31 | Shelburne Nova Scotia | 4,542 | 83.2 | 118.8 | C |
| 32 | Cumberland County, Subdivision D Nova Scotia | 4,692 | 93.1 | 86.7 | C− |
| 33 | Melville Saskatchewan | 4,547 | 104.2 | 145.1 | C− |
| 34 | Vanderhoof British Columbia | 4,545 | 126.5 | 178.5 | D |
| 35 | Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley British Columbia | 4,482 | 131.7 | 149.7 | D |
| 36 | Electoral Area D (Oyster Bay - Buttle Lake), Strathcona British Columbia | 4,546 | 166.3 | 162.8 | D |
| 37 | Geraldton Ontario | 4,398 | 198.8 | 261.9 | D |
| … | |||||
| 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 Vanderhoof in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
The police area Vanderhoof is part of, 8,540 residents, recorded about 290 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.
Property crime adds about 390 a year and other violations 340 (2023–2025 average). Of 1,000 dots, one per resident, the coloured ones are a year’s incidents at these rates.
Crime in the places around Vanderhoof
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vanderhoof | 4,545 | 126.5 | 178.5 | D |
| Electoral Area F, Bulkley-Nechako (10 km) | 3,643 | 126.5 | 178.5 | D |
| Electoral Area C, Bulkley-Nechako (50 km) | 1,312 | 286 | 349.2 | D |
| Electoral Area D, Bulkley-Nechako (50 km) | 1,772 | 116.2 | 177.5 | C− |
| Fort St. James (50 km) | 1,542 | 286 | 349.2 | D |
| Electoral Area C, Fraser-Fort George (74 km) | 3,811 | 67.3 | 98.3 | B− |
Of 4 places nearby with their own figures, 2 come in under Vanderhoof. Closest is Electoral Area D, Bulkley-Nechako, 50 km away, at 116.2 to 126.5 here. Sharing its police with one neighbour, it shares that neighbour’s figure as well, so the neighbour isn’t compared.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means. Distances here run 10–74 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Vanderhoof.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What clearance means. 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.
- 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.”
- Shared with the countryside. The detachment counts crime across its whole territory, of which Vanderhoof is one part.
- The index’s scale. 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 Vanderhoof
Is Vanderhoof safe?
Vanderhoof scores 126.5 on Statistics Canada’s Crime Severity Index (2023–2025 mean), where the typical figure for Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people is 68.5; per 1,000 residents a year that is 33.5 violent incidents and 45.1 property crimes.
What is the most common crime in Vanderhoof?
The three biggest groups are other Criminal Code offences at 29.8, mischief at 23.6 and assault at 14.7, each per 1,000 residents a year.
Is crime going up in Vanderhoof?
Over 2023–2025 the index dropped 20%, to 115.5 from 143.9.
How much of Vanderhoof’s crime do police solve?
Police cleared 30% of crime once each incident is weighted by seriousness: 39% of violent crime and 25% of the rest, against 34% for the typical Canadian town its size.
Whose figures are these?
A shared service or detachment’s, reported as one for Vanderhoof 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).