Photo: Carsten Hanebaum · Public domainRussell records more crime per resident than 93% of Canadian towns
Violence and property crime split as 36.4 violent incidents and 65.2 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents a year, beside 12.9 and 31.2 in the typical town its size. Against usual levels of 85.7 and 62.8, violent and non-violent offences here reach 183.3 and 166.1. Graded on crime the police covering Russell reported from 2023 to 2025, it scores D for safety: #171 of 182 in Manitoba.
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 Russell
Mischief: high for a town its size
Russell records 26.7 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 ↓
A higher index than most towns its size
Of the 40 Canadian towns nearest it in size, Russell places 37th from the lowest index. Towns its size ↓
Over the Manitoba norm
Russell’s index of 170 compares with 129.3 for the typical town in Manitoba. Towns its size ↓
Police clear more here
The weighted clearance rate, the share of crime police solve, is 44% for Russell (72% violent, 31% non-violent), beside 34% for Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people. Questions ↓
Written from Statistics Canada’s police-reported crime by police service and detachment, 2023–2025. Figures are what police recorded, not convictions.
What sits behind Russell’s D
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: #171 of 182 in Manitoba and #2,490 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.
Crime in Russell, type by type
Against the typical town its size, Russell runs highest on mischief (26.7 per 1,000 against 4.9), drug offences (3.2 per 1,000 against 0.7) and assault (20.5 per 1,000 against 6.7).
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0.3 | 0.2 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 0.7 | 0.4 | — |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 5.7 | 3.2 | 100% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 0.3 | 0.2 | — |
| Robbery | 1 | 0.6 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 0 | 0 | — |
| Other violent violations | 0.3 | 0.2 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 14.7 | 8.3 | 16% |
| Possession of stolen property | 1 | 0.6 | — |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 11.7 | 6.6 | 32% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 1.7 | 0.9 | — |
| Theft under $5,000 | 23.7 | 13.5 | 13% |
| Mischief | 47 | 26.7 | 22% |
| Weapons violations | 2 | 1.1 | — |
| Administration of justice violations | 18 | 10.2 | 65% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 5 | 2.8 | 74% |
| Drug violations | 5.7 | 3.2 | 65% |
| Impaired driving | 14 | 8 | 31% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 0.3 | 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.
Among 40 towns its size, Russell places 37th
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Electoral Area A, Central Kootenay British Columbia | 2,668 | 35.8 | 32 | A |
| … | |||||
| 6 | Emerson-Franklin Manitoba | 2,686 | 47.5 | 54.8 | B+ |
| … | |||||
| 11 | Souris Manitoba | 2,737 | 54.2 | 56.4 | B |
| … | |||||
| 34 | Sundre Alberta | 2,683 | 115.4 | 138.1 | C− |
| 35 | Electoral Area E, Peace River British Columbia | 2,737 | 139.5 | 210.6 | D |
| 36 | Swan Valley West Manitoba | 2,702 | 169.9 | 227.9 | D |
| 37 | Russell Manitoba | 2,715 | 170 | 183.3 | D |
| 38 | Meadow Lake No. 588 Saskatchewan | 2,712 | 243 | 329.2 | D |
| 39 | La Ronge Saskatchewan | 2,668 | 715.9 | 1,169 | 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 Russell in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Police in Russell recorded about 64 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.
And about 110 property crimes, plus 86 other violations, a year (2023–2025 average). Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot, one incident a year at the area’s rates.
Russell’s index year by year
Crime Severity Index
It closed on its heaviest year, 2025, at 174.4; the lightest was 2024, at 164.9. The comparison line, the typical Canadian town its size, runs from 74.3 in 2023 to 64.2 by 2025.
Every year as a table
| Year | Russell | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 174.4 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 164.9 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 170.6 | 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 Russell, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Crime in the places around Russell
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Russell | 2,715 | 170 | 183.3 | D |
| Langenburg (30 km) | 1,256 | 66.4 | 84.4 | B− |
| Rossburn (37 km) | 1,015 | 111 | 149.1 | C− |
| Prairie View (40 km) | 2,149 | 111 | 149.1 | C− |
The places around Russell all score lower on the index. The nearest of them, Langenburg (29.8 km away), scores 66.4 against 170.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means. Russell has few close neighbours with figures, so the list reaches 30–40 km out.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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 crime is cleared when police lay or recommend a charge, or solve it another way; the weighted rate counts serious crimes for more.
- 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.”
- Few people behind the figures. The police behind these figures serve about 1,768 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.”
Questions about safety in Russell
Is Russell safe?
Averaged over 2023–2025, the Crime Severity Index for Russell comes to 170. Per 1,000 residents a year, police logged 36.4 violent incidents and 65.2 property crimes. The middle of Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people is 68.5.
What is the most common crime in Russell?
Most often it is other Criminal Code offences: 33.5 per 1,000 residents a year. Next come mischief at 26.7 and assault at 20.5.
Is crime going up in Russell?
The index stayed close to where it was, 170.6 in 2023 and 174.4 in 2025. A small or partial count makes this change uncertain.
How much of Russell’s crime do police solve?
About 44% of crime is cleared, weighted by seriousness, with 72% of violent and 31% of other crime; the figure for the typical Canadian town its size is 34%.
Whose figures are these?
Its own police: the service or contract that covers Russell 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).