Photo: Dig deeper · CC BY-SA 4.0West St. Paul sits near the middle of Canadian towns for recorded crime
Out of every 1,000 residents, 8.5 violent incidents and 27.0 incidents of property crime are reported annually, against 12.0 and 30.5 in the typical town its size. On Statistics Canada’s Crime Severity Index, the 2023–2025 average is 64.4, where the typical Canadian town its size sits at 66. Taking everything together, West St. Paul scores B− (#24 of 182 in Manitoba): close to the middle of Canadian towns, measured on crime its police reported between 2023 and 2025. Among its 6 neighbours with figures, only one records less crime per resident.
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. Measured across the Selkirk detachment area: crime severity, crime rate and incident counts.
What stands out about safety in West St. Paul
Under the Manitoba norm
The typical Manitoba town scores 129.3; West St. Paul, 64.4. Towns its size ↓
Property and other crime weigh more
Violent crime scores 49.4 on West St. Paul’s index against 89.4 for the typical Canadian town its size; non-violent crime, 70.9 against 56. By type ↓
Motor vehicle theft: high for a town its size
West St. Paul records 4.8 incidents of motor vehicle theft per 1,000 residents a year, against 2.4 in the typical town among Canadian towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people. By type ↓
In the middle of towns its size
Set among the 40 Canadian towns closest to it in population, West St. Paul comes 22nd, counting from the lowest Crime Severity Index. 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.
Inside West St. Paul’s B− for safety
How sure: Not as firm as most grades. Its figures come from the nearest detachment, 21 km off, which covers its own area rather than West St. Paul.
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: #24 of 182 in Manitoba and #1,008 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.
Which crimes make up West St. Paul’s figures
Against the typical town its size, West St. Paul runs highest on motor vehicle theft (4.8 per 1,000 against 2.4), mischief (7.4 per 1,000 against 3.7) and break and enter (4 per 1,000 against 2.2). Fraud and theft under $5,000 sit below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0 | 0 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 5 | 0.2 | 66% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 2.3 | 0.1 | — |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 3.3 | 0.2 | — |
| Robbery | 2 | 0.10 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 0 | 0 | — |
| Other violent violations | 3.3 | 0.2 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 81.7 | 4 | 12% |
| Possession of stolen property | 14 | 0.7 | 29% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 96 | 4.8 | 10% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 12.7 | 0.6 | 2% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 120 | 6 | 8% |
| Mischief | 148.7 | 7.4 | 22% |
| Weapons violations | 15 | 0.7 | 53% |
| Administration of justice violations | 68.3 | 3.4 | 53% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 13.7 | 0.7 | 53% |
| Drug violations | 20.7 | 1 | 29% |
| Impaired driving | 89.3 | 4.4 | 59% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 1 | 0.05 | — |
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.
West St. Paul’s index fell 11% from 2023 to 2025
Crime Severity Index
2023 opened the run as its heaviest year (73.4); 2024 was the lightest, at 54.4. Over 2023–2025, the typical Canadian town its size moved from 69.5 to 60.
Every year as a table
| Year | West St. Paul | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 65.3 | 60 |
| 2024 | 54.4 | 67.9 |
| 2023 | 73.4 | 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 West St. Paul, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
West St. Paul comes 22nd of the 40 towns nearest in size
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stoneham-et-Tewkesbury Quebec | 10,147 | 28.2 | 46.7 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 19 | Penetanguishene Ontario | 11,141 | 56.4 | 92 | B |
| 20 | East St. Paul Manitoba | 10,321 | 58.8 | 39.1 | B |
| 21 | Banff Alberta | 11,402 | 63 | 74.8 | B− |
| 22 | West St. Paul Manitoba | 10,796 | 64.4 | 49.4 | B− |
| 23 | Morinville Alberta | 10,763 | 66.4 | 81.6 | B− |
| 24 | Ponoka County Alberta | 10,670 | 67.6 | 54.5 | B− |
| 25 | Farnham Quebec | 11,315 | 72.8 | 96 | C+ |
| … | |||||
| 40 | Wheatland County Alberta | 10,150 | 298.8 | 486.4 | 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 West St. Paul in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
The detachment nearest West St. Paul, 20,100 residents: around 170 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 540 property crimes and 290 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 West St. Paul
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| West St. Paul | 10,796 | 64.4 | 49.4 | B− |
| East St. Paul | 10,321 | 58.8 | 39.1 | B |
| Riverbend | 5,453 | 129.3 | 197.6 | D |
| Rivergrove | 2,742 | 129.3 | 197.6 | D |
| Valhalla | 3,153 | 129.3 | 197.6 | D |
| River East | 7,774 | 129.3 | 197.6 | D |
| West Kildonan Industrial | 3,678 | 129.3 | 197.6 | D |
West St. Paul sits above 1 of the 6 neighbours with figures of their own. Just 5 km away, East St. Paul comes to 58.8, against 64.4.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Severity, weighed. Statistics Canada builds the index from every crime police record, weighted by how seriously the courts treat it, and divides by the population. It adds a warning of its own: “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.”
- What 100 means. Canada’s own index has been below its 2006 base of 100 for years, so 100 marks a fixed reference, not today’s national average.
- The clearance rate. 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 West St. Paul
Is West St. Paul safe?
With 8.5 violent incidents and 27 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, West St. Paul comes to 64.4 on the Crime Severity Index (2023–2025); Canadian towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people have a median of 66.
What is the most common crime in West St. Paul?
Top of the list is mischief (7.4 per 1,000 residents a year); other Criminal Code offences, at 7.2, and theft under $5,000, at 6, follow.
Is crime going up in West St. Paul?
It went down 11% between 2023 and 2025, from 73.4 to 65.3.
How much of West St. Paul’s crime do police solve?
Police cleared 29% of crime once each incident is weighted by seriousness: 58% of violent crime and 21% of the rest, against 33% for the typical Canadian town its size.
Whose figures are these?
A shared service or detachment’s, reported as one for West St. Paul and everywhere else it polices.
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).