Photo: Svhartje · CC BY-SA 3.0Swan River has more crime per resident than 98% of Canadian towns
Both towns next door with figures record less crime per resident. Of the two halves, violence comes to 403.3 and other offences to 452.3, beside norms of 85.7 and 62.8. Scored on crime the police covering Swan River reported across 2023 to 2025, the town lands on D− for safety: #179 of 182 in Manitoba. Annual rates stand at 56.4 violent incidents and 263.5 incidents of property crime for every thousand residents, next to 12.9 and 31.2 in the typical 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.
What stands out about safety in Swan River
Mischief: high for a town its size
Swan River records 126.6 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 ↓
Over the Manitoba norm
Set among Manitoba’s towns, whose median is 129.3, Swan River scores 435.7. Towns its size ↓
A higher index than most towns its size
Counting up from the lowest index, Swan River is 40th of the 40 Canadian towns closest in population. Towns its size ↓
Property and other crime weigh more
Set beside the typical Canadian town its size, Swan River’s two halves part ways: 403.3 for violence (typical 85.7) and 452.3 for the rest (typical 62.8). By type ↓
Written from Statistics Canada’s police-reported crime by police service and detachment, 2023–2025. Figures are what police recorded, not convictions.
Swan River: D− for safety, and why
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: #179 of 182 in Manitoba and #2,556 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.
Swan River’s crime by kind
Against the typical town its size, Swan River runs highest on mischief (126.6 per 1,000 against 4.9), break and enter (29.8 per 1,000 against 2.8) and drug offences (6.8 per 1,000 against 0.7).
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 1 | 0.2 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 4.7 | 1.2 | — |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 9 | 2.2 | 100% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 5.3 | 1.3 | 51% |
| Robbery | 7.7 | 1.9 | 82% |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 0.7 | 0.2 | — |
| Other violent violations | 1.7 | 0.4 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 120.7 | 29.8 | 27% |
| Possession of stolen property | 8.7 | 2.1 | 38% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 23.7 | 5.8 | 43% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 7.7 | 1.9 | 17% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 344 | 85 | 40% |
| Mischief | 512.3 | 126.6 | 40% |
| Weapons violations | 20 | 4.9 | 35% |
| Administration of justice violations | 164.3 | 40.6 | 88% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 19 | 4.7 | 51% |
| Drug violations | 27.7 | 6.8 | 26% |
| Impaired driving | 30.3 | 7.5 | 47% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 1 | 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.
By its index, Swan River stands 40th of 40 towns its size
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lac-Etchemin Quebec | 4,089 | 30.8 | 48.9 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 21 | North Norfolk Manitoba | 4,084 | 67.8 | 71.8 | B− |
| … | |||||
| 28 | Woodlands Manitoba | 4,057 | 100.9 | 127 | C− |
| … | |||||
| 37 | Fort Nelson British Columbia | 4,144 | 263.7 | 376.9 | D |
| 38 | Alexander Manitoba | 4,032 | 298.9 | 493 | D− |
| 39 | Watford Ontario | 3,955 | 333.9 | 378.3 | D− |
| 40 | Swan River Manitoba | 4,048 | 435.7 | 403.3 | 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 Swan River in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Police in Swan River recorded about 230 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 1,070 a year and other violations 440 (2023–2025 average). Of 1,000 dots, one per resident, the coloured ones are a year’s incidents at these rates.
The index in Swan River, each year
Crime Severity Index
From 531.8 in 2023, its first and heaviest year, it eased to a low of 329.8 in 2025. Over 2023–2025, the typical Canadian town its size moved from 74.3 to 64.2.
Every year as a table
| Year | Swan River | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 329.8 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 445.4 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 531.8 | 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 Swan River, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Crime in the places around Swan River
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swan River | 4,048 | 435.7 | 403.3 | D− |
| Minitonas-Bowsman | 1,545 | 169.9 | 227.9 | D |
| Swan Valley West | 2,702 | 169.9 | 227.9 | D |
Swan River has the highest index of the places around it. Just 15.9 km away, Minitonas-Bowsman comes to 169.9, against 435.7.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Severity, weighed. 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. With roughly 4,048 residents in its police area, a few cases swing the figures. In Statistics Canada’s words, “Data for police services or detachments with populations less than 5,000 should be used with caution.”
- What 100 means. Statistics Canada set the national index at 100 for 2006; every figure here is read against that.
- The clearance rate. A crime is cleared when police lay or recommend a charge, or solve it another way; the weighted rate counts serious crimes for more.
Questions about safety in Swan River
Is Swan River safe?
Its police recorded 56.4 violent incidents and 263.5 property crimes a year per 1,000 residents over 2023–2025, which gives Swan River a Crime Severity Index of 435.7. For Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, the typical index is 68.5.
What is the most common crime in Swan River?
Top of the list is mischief (126.6 per 1,000 residents a year); other Criminal Code offences, at 89.8, and theft under $5,000, at 85, follow.
Is crime going up in Swan River?
Over 2023–2025 the index dropped 38%, to 329.8 from 531.8. With few people or missing years behind it, the change is a rough one.
How much of Swan River’s crime do police solve?
Police solve 62% of violent crime and 37% of everything else, 44% overall once each crime is weighted by seriousness, against 34% for the typical Canadian town its size.
Whose figures are these?
A police service or contract that serves Swan River alone, so the figures are the town’s.
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).