Photo: Globalphotobank · CC BY-SA 4.0Crime per resident in Williams Lake runs higher than in 95% of Canadian towns
Both towns next door with figures record less crime per resident. Violence accounts for an index of 248.6 and other offences for 251.2, against usual levels of 89.4 and 56. The Safety Grade comes out at D, drawn from crime the police covering Williams Lake reported through 2023 to 2025: #246 of 251 in British Columbia. What’s more, in a usual year, 40.6 violent incidents and 89.6 incidents of property crime are logged per 1,000 inhabitants; in the typical town its size, 12.0 and 30.5.
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 Williams Lake
Drug offences: high for a town its size
Williams Lake records 9.2 incidents of drug offences per 1,000 residents a year, against 0.8 in the typical town among Canadian towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people. By type ↓
Above British Columbia’s typical town
Set among British Columbia’s towns, whose median is 83.2, Williams Lake scores 248.9. Towns its size ↓
Down since 2023
In 2023 the index in Williams Lake stood at 297, by 2025 at 220.4. Over the same years the typical Canadian town its size went from 69.5 to 60. Year by year ↓
A higher index than most towns its size
Counting up from the lowest index, Williams Lake is 40th 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.
The grade: D for Williams Lake
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: #246 of 251 in British Columbia and #2,522 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.
Williams Lake’s crime by kind
Against the typical town its size, Williams Lake runs highest on drug offences (9.2 per 1,000 against 0.8), mischief (31.5 per 1,000 against 3.7) and break and enter (8.2 per 1,000 against 2.2).
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0.7 | 0.06 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 12.7 | 1.1 | 24% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 10 | 0.9 | 97% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 4 | 0.4 | — |
| Robbery | 10.3 | 0.9 | 46% |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 0.3 | 0.03 | — |
| Other violent violations | 6 | 0.5 | 45% |
| Breaking and entering | 93 | 8.2 | 18% |
| Possession of stolen property | 27 | 2.4 | 37% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 50 | 4.4 | 13% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 8.3 | 0.7 | 8% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 375.3 | 32.9 | 21% |
| Mischief | 359 | 31.5 | 25% |
| Weapons violations | 35 | 3.1 | 59% |
| Administration of justice violations | 270.3 | 23.7 | 90% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 25 | 2.2 | 51% |
| Drug violations | 105.3 | 9.2 | 42% |
| Impaired driving | 81.7 | 7.2 | 76% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 1 | 0.09 | — |
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.
In Williams Lake, down 26% between 2023 and 2025
Crime Severity Index
Its highest year was 2023, at 297, and its lowest 2025, at 220.4. Set beside it, the typical Canadian town its size went from 69.5 in 2023 to 60 in 2025.
Every year as a table
| Year | Williams Lake | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 220.4 | 60 |
| 2024 | 229.5 | 67.9 |
| 2023 | 297 | 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 Williams Lake, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Williams Lake comes 40th of the 40 towns nearest in size
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hamilton Ontario | 11,810 | 25.7 | 30.4 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 15 | Coldstream British Columbia | 11,380 | 45.1 | 61.9 | A− |
| … | |||||
| 37 | Sechelt British Columbia | 11,558 | 141.3 | 114.9 | D |
| 38 | Selkirk Manitoba | 11,570 | 158 | 197.4 | D |
| 39 | Clearwater County Alberta | 11,856 | 188.3 | 342.3 | D |
| 40 | Williams Lake British Columbia | 11,462 | 248.9 | 248.6 | 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 Williams Lake in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Police in Williams Lake recorded about 460 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.
Add about 1,020 property crimes and 810 other violations a year (2023–2025 average). The grid is 1,000 residents, a coloured dot for each incident a year at these rates.
Crime in the places around Williams Lake
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Williams Lake | 11,462 | 248.9 | 248.6 | D |
| Electoral Area D, Cariboo | 3,057 | 51.7 | 55.1 | B+ |
| Electoral Area E, Cariboo | 4,242 | 51.7 | 55.1 | B+ |
The places around Williams Lake all score lower on the index. The nearest of them, Electoral Area D, Cariboo (6.4 km away), scores 51.7 against 248.9.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Cleared, not convicted. Cleared means solved by police, charged or not; it says nothing about what courts decide.
- 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.”
- 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 Williams Lake
Is Williams Lake safe?
Williams Lake’s Crime Severity Index is 248.9 (2023–2025 mean); its police record 40.6 violent incidents and 89.6 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year. In the middle of Canadian towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people the figure is 66.
What is the most common crime in Williams Lake?
Other Criminal Code offences is the most common, at 51.3 per 1,000 residents a year, then theft under $5,000 (32.9) and mischief (31.5).
Is crime going up in Williams Lake?
It went down 26% between 2023 and 2025, from 297 to 220.4.
How much of Williams Lake’s crime do police solve?
Police solve 40% of violent crime and 25% of everything else, 29% overall once each crime is weighted by seriousness, against 33% for the typical Canadian town its size.
Whose figures are these?
They are Williams Lake’s own: its police cover the town and no other.
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).