Photo: Valentin8107 · CC BY-SA 4.0Recorded crime per resident is higher in Vernon than in 90% of Canadian towns
Violence and property crime split as 24.0 violent incidents and 72.5 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents a year, beside 12.0 and 30.5 in the typical town its size. About 22% of crime here is cleared by police, set against 33% for the typical Canadian town its size. It grades D for safety on crime the police covering Vernon reported from 2023 to 2025: #226 of 251 in British Columbia. Its violent half comes to 141.2 and its non-violent half to 147.9, where the norm is 89.4 and 56.
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.
What stands out about safety in Vernon
Mischief: high for a town its size
Vernon records 23.7 incidents of mischief per 1,000 residents a year, against 3.7 in the typical town among Canadian towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people. By type ↓
Higher than most of British Columbia
The typical British Columbia town scores 83.2; Vernon, 145.1. Towns its size ↓
A higher index than most towns its size
Set among the 40 Canadian towns closest to it in population, Vernon comes 37th, counting from the lowest Crime Severity Index. Towns its size ↓
Non-violent crime leads the index
Set beside the typical Canadian town its size, Vernon’s two halves part ways: 141.2 for violence (typical 89.4) and 147.9 for the rest (typical 56). By type ↓
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 Vernon’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: #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 10,000 to 50,000 people.
Vernon’s crime by kind
Against the typical town its size, Vernon runs highest on mischief (23.7 per 1,000 against 3.7), drug offences (3.3 per 1,000 against 0.8) and theft under $5,000 (30.6 per 1,000 against 11.8).
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 2.3 | 0.05 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 25.7 | 0.5 | 30% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 15 | 0.3 | 93% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 6 | 0.1 | 45% |
| Robbery | 31.7 | 0.6 | 35% |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 4.7 | 0.10 | — |
| Other violent violations | 9.3 | 0.2 | 18% |
| Breaking and entering | 203.7 | 4.2 | 21% |
| Possession of stolen property | 68.7 | 1.4 | 29% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 153 | 3.1 | 7% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 43.7 | 0.9 | 9% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 1,495 | 30.6 | 10% |
| Mischief | 1,160.7 | 23.7 | 11% |
| Weapons violations | 60.7 | 1.2 | 47% |
| Administration of justice violations | 566.3 | 11.6 | 87% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 87 | 1.8 | 38% |
| Drug violations | 162.3 | 3.3 | 37% |
| Impaired driving | 146.7 | 3 | 71% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 12.7 | 0.3 | 31% |
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 10,000 to 50,000 people.
Vernon comes 37th of the 40 towns nearest in size
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lakeshore Ontario | 45,954 | 26.8 | 29 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 9 | Port Moody British Columbia | 38,285 | 43.5 | 43.4 | A− |
| … | |||||
| 20 | West Vancouver British Columbia | 47,929 | 57.2 | 59.8 | B |
| … | |||||
| 22 | Langford British Columbia | 59,664 | 65.9 | 65.9 | B− |
| … | |||||
| 27 | West Kelowna British Columbia | 40,274 | 78.4 | 79.1 | C+ |
| … | |||||
| 34 | Mission British Columbia | 47,280 | 114.1 | 134.5 | C− |
| 35 | Timmins Ontario | 45,569 | 124.5 | 170.4 | D |
| 36 | Rocky View County Alberta | 50,260 | 137 | 122.9 | D |
| 37 | Vernon British Columbia | 49,527 | 145.1 | 141.2 | D |
| 38 | Campbell River British Columbia | 38,300 | 162.9 | 166.6 | D |
| 39 | Penticton British Columbia | 39,068 | 164 | 142.9 | D |
| 40 | Prince Albert Saskatchewan | 40,728 | 295.8 | 470.9 | 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 Vernon in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Year by year in Vernon: down 16%, 2023 to 2025
Crime Severity Index
The index started at its highest, 159 in 2023, and touched its lowest in 2025, at 133.9. In the same years the typical Canadian town its size read 69.5 (2023), then 60 (2025).
Every year as a table
| Year | Vernon | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 133.9 | 60 |
| 2024 | 142.5 | 67.9 |
| 2023 | 159 | 69.5 |
Statistics Canada, Crime Severity Index by police service, each year as published. Typical: the median of Canadian towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people.
The Crime Severity Index of the police covering Vernon, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Vernon’s police: about 1,170 violent incidents a year over 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 3,540 property crimes, plus 2,000 other violations, a year (2023–2025 average). Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot, one incident a year at the area’s rates.
Crime in the places around Vernon
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vernon | 49,527 | 145.1 | 141.2 | D |
| Electoral Area C, North Okanagan | 5,029 | 61.3 | 74.1 | B− |
| Electoral Area B, North Okanagan | 3,415 | 61.3 | 74.1 | B− |
| Coldstream | 11,380 | 45.1 | 61.9 | A− |
| Okanagan (Part) 1 | 3,482 | — | — | — |
| Spallumcheen | 5,843 | 51.3 | 59.9 | B+ |
Every neighbour with a figure of its own has a lower index than Vernon. Closest is Electoral Area C, North Okanagan, 5.2 km away, at 61.3 to 145.1 here.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The index’s scale. Figures are relative to one fixed point, Canada in 2006 at 100, rather than to this year’s national number.
- What clearance means. Cleared means solved by police, charged or not; it says nothing about what courts decide.
- An index, not a verdict. 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.
Questions about safety in Vernon
Is Vernon safe?
Vernon measures 145.1 on the Crime Severity Index for 2023–2025, next to 66 for Canadian towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people. Per 1,000 residents a year, its police record 24 violent incidents and 72.5 property crimes.
What is the most common crime in Vernon?
Most often it is other Criminal Code offences: 33.2 per 1,000 residents a year. Next come theft under $5,000 at 30.6 and mischief at 23.7.
Is crime going up in Vernon?
The reverse: 159 in 2023 came down to 133.9 by 2025, 16% lower.
How much of Vernon’s crime do police solve?
The weighted clearance rate is 22%: 33% for violent crime and 17% for non-violent. For the typical Canadian town its size it is 33%.
Whose figures are these?
Its own police: the service or contract that covers Vernon and nowhere else.
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).