Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainPer resident, Welcome Beach records more crime than 64% of Canadian towns
Violence accounts for an index of 94 and other offences for 70.2, against usual levels of 85.7 and 62.8. Each year brought 16.0 violent incidents and 28.7 incidents of property crime for every 1,000 residents (12.9 and 31.2 in the typical town its size). Scored on crime the police covering Welcome Beach reported across 2023 to 2025, the town lands on C+ for safety: #107 of 251 in British Columbia. About 27% of crime here is cleared by police, set against 34% for the typical Canadian 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. Not measured by town: crime severity, crime rate and incident counts (the Sunshine Coast detachment area).
What stands out about safety in Welcome Beach
Higher than many towns its size
Set among the 40 Canadian towns closest to it in population, Welcome Beach comes 29th, counting from the lowest Crime Severity Index. Towns its size ↓
Near the British Columbia middle
The typical British Columbia town scores 83.2; Welcome Beach, 76.6. 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 Welcome Beach’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: #107 of 251 in British Columbia and #1,587 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.
Welcome Beach comes 29th of the 40 towns nearest in size
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adelaide-Metcalfe Ontario | 3,196 | 25.7 | 29 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 9 | Electoral Area E, Alberni-Clayoquot British Columbia | 3,069 | 48.6 | 69.1 | B+ |
| … | |||||
| 15 | Electoral Area D, Cariboo British Columbia | 3,057 | 51.7 | 55.1 | B+ |
| … | |||||
| 17 | Electoral Area D, North Okanagan British Columbia | 3,184 | 53.2 | 66.4 | B+ |
| 18 | Electoral Area C (Part 1), Kitimat-Stikine British Columbia | 3,189 | 53.7 | 75.4 | B |
| … | |||||
| 26 | Normandin Quebec | 3,065 | 68.9 | 107.3 | C+ |
| 27 | Percé Quebec | 3,137 | 69.4 | 134.9 | C+ |
| 28 | Cap-Pelé New Brunswick | 3,092 | 72.8 | 74.8 | C+ |
| 29 | Welcome Beach British Columbia | 3,130 | 76.6 | 94 | C+ |
| 30 | Shippagan New Brunswick | 3,073 | 80.3 | 100.6 | C |
| 31 | Pincher Creek No. 9 Alberta | 3,176 | 84.5 | 85.4 | C |
| 32 | Bishop's Falls Newfoundland and Labrador | 3,162 | 92.1 | 84.1 | C |
| … | |||||
| 40 | La Loche Saskatchewan | 3,124 | 1,107 | 1,524.7 | 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 Welcome Beach in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Year by year in Welcome Beach: down 9%, 2023 to 2025
Crime Severity Index
Its index peaked in 2024 at 79.9, between two lighter years; the lowest, 2025, came in at 71.4. 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 | Welcome Beach | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 71.4 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 79.9 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 78.5 | 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 Welcome Beach, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
What police record in Welcome Beach, by type
Against the typical town its size, Welcome Beach runs highest on mischief (7.3 per 1,000 against 4.9) and break and enter (3.6 per 1,000 against 2.8). Theft under $5,000 sits below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0.7 | 0.03 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 8.7 | 0.4 | 31% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 7.7 | 0.3 | 100% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 4.7 | 0.2 | — |
| Robbery | 4.7 | 0.2 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 1 | 0.04 | — |
| Other violent violations | 3.3 | 0.1 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 82.7 | 3.6 | 14% |
| Possession of stolen property | 14.7 | 0.6 | 43% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 26 | 1.1 | 13% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 19.3 | 0.8 | 2% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 229 | 10 | 17% |
| Mischief | 166.7 | 7.3 | 21% |
| Weapons violations | 10 | 0.4 | 67% |
| Administration of justice violations | 76.3 | 3.3 | 57% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 32.7 | 1.4 | 31% |
| Drug violations | 20.7 | 0.9 | 47% |
| Impaired driving | 77 | 3.4 | 66% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 5.3 | 0.2 | 51% |
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.
23,000 residents, about 370 violent incidents a year: the police area Welcome Beach belongs to, 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 660 a year and other violations 420 (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 Welcome Beach
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Welcome Beach | 3,130 | 76.6 | 94 | C+ |
| Sechelt | 11,558 | 141.3 | 114.9 | D |
| Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast | 3,256 | 76.6 | 94 | C+ |
Where a neighbour shares its police, it shares the figure too, and isn’t counted above.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What the index measures. The index weighs crimes rather than counting them: a serious offence moves it far more than a minor one. Statistics Canada is plain about its limits: “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.”
- A detachment’s area. An RCMP or OPP detachment reports one set of figures for everywhere it polices, so Welcome Beach’s are shared with its surroundings.
- 100 is Canada in 2006. Its scale starts from Canada in 2006, set at 100, so a figure above 100 means more serious crime per resident than the country had then.
- Cleared, not convicted. 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.
Questions about safety in Welcome Beach
Is Welcome Beach safe?
Welcome Beach’s Crime Severity Index is 76.6 (2023–2025 mean); its police record 16 violent incidents and 28.7 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year. In the middle of Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people the figure is 68.5.
What is the most common crime in Welcome Beach?
Most often it is other Criminal Code offences: 13.1 per 1,000 residents a year. Next come theft under $5,000 at 10 and mischief at 7.3.
Is crime going up in Welcome Beach?
No: the index fell 9%, from 78.5 in 2023 to 71.4 in 2025.
How much of Welcome Beach’s crime do police solve?
Weighted by seriousness, police cleared 27% of crime (42% of violent crime, 18% of the rest). The typical Canadian town its size clears 34%.
Whose figures are these?
A police service or detachment that covers Welcome Beach 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).