Photo: Amakuha · CC BY 4.0More crimes per resident are recorded in St. John's than in 88% of Canadian towns
Scored on crime the police covering St. John's reported across 2023 to 2025, the town lands on D for safety: #46 of 182 in Manitoba. Violence and property crime split as 18.0 violent incidents and 58.8 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents a year, beside 10.8 and 25.1 in the typical Canadian town of 50,000+. Of the two halves, violence comes to 197.6 and other offences to 103.1, beside norms of 75.2 and 54.2. The index fell from 136.8 in 2023 to 119.3 in 2025.
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 Winnipeg service area: crime severity and crime rate.
What stands out about safety in St. John's
Violence weighs more than the rest
St. John's scores 197.6 for violence and 103.1 for other crime; the typical Canadian town of 50,000+ scores 75.2 and 54.2. By type ↓
Written from Statistics Canada’s police-reported crime by police service and detachment, 2023–2025. Figures are what police recorded, not convictions.
The D for St. John's, and how it is built
How sure: Not as firm as most grades, since the figure covers the entire city rather than St. John's alone.
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: #46 of 182 in Manitoba and #2,309 of 2,572 Canadian towns.
The Crime Severity Index and its two halves, beside the typical figure for Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more.
What Winnipeg’s police record, by type
These are Winnipeg’s figures, for its police’s whole area: they aren’t published by neighbourhood.
Against the typical town its size, Winnipeg runs highest on robbery (3.5 per 1,000 against 0.4), mischief (16.8 per 1,000 against 3.8) and break and enter (6.3 per 1,000 against 2.2).
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 36 | 0.04 | 90% |
| Sexual violations against children | 249 | 0.3 | 64% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 394 | 0.5 | 100% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 82 | 0.10 | 50% |
| Robbery | 2,888.7 | 3.5 | 31% |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 58.7 | 0.07 | 82% |
| Other violent violations | 135.3 | 0.2 | 67% |
| Breaking and entering | 5,266.7 | 6.3 | 14% |
| Possession of stolen property | 575 | 0.7 | 100% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 3,409.7 | 4.1 | 6% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 382.7 | 0.5 | 10% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 19,975 | 23.9 | 15% |
| Mischief | 14,004.7 | 16.8 | 6% |
| Weapons violations | 970 | 1.2 | 87% |
| Administration of justice violations | 4,303 | 5.1 | 99% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 603 | 0.7 | 81% |
| Drug violations | 492 | 0.6 | 95% |
| Impaired driving | 444 | 0.5 | 99% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 6 | 0.01 | 45% |
Statistics Canada’s violation groups for the whole police service or detachment: incidents a year are its own, the town’s share is only estimated in the tiles. 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 50,000 people or more.
St. John's, year by year
Crime Severity Index
Its highest year was 2023, at 136.8, and its lowest 2025, at 119.3. Over 2023–2025, the typical Canadian town of 50,000+ moved from 64.3 to 59.2.
Every year as a table
| Year | St. John's | Typical town of 50,000+ |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 119.3 | 59.2 |
| 2024 | 131.8 | 59.9 |
| 2023 | 136.8 | 64.3 |
Statistics Canada, Crime Severity Index by police service, each year as published. Typical: the median of Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more.
The Crime Severity Index of the police covering St. John's, each year, against the typical Canadian town of 50,000+.
Crime in the places around St. John's
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. John's | 8,492 | 129.3 | 197.6 | D |
| Luxton | 3,047 | 129.3 | 197.6 | D |
| Inkster-Faraday | 3,700 | 129.3 | 197.6 | D |
| William Whyte | 11,432 | 129.3 | 197.6 | D |
| Seven Oaks | 3,244 | 129.3 | 197.6 | D |
| Jefferson | 11,524 | 129.3 | 197.6 | D |
| North Point Douglas | 2,670 | 129.3 | 197.6 | D |
Where neighbours share its police, they share the figure too: 6 aren’t counted above.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Severity, weighed. Police-reported incidents, each multiplied by a weight drawn from court sentences, summed and divided by the population: that is the index, and its makers attach a caution, “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.”
- One figure for the city. The figures for St. John's are city-wide: neighbourhood counts aren’t published as open data here.
- What 100 means. Figures are relative to one fixed point, Canada in 2006 at 100, rather than to this year’s national number.
- 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 St. John's
Is St. John's safe?
Its police recorded 18 violent incidents and 58.8 property crimes a year per 1,000 residents over 2023–2025, which gives St. John's a Crime Severity Index of 129.3. The middle of Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more is 60.3.
What is the most common crime in St. John's?
The three biggest groups are theft under $5,000 at 23.9, mischief at 16.8 and assault at 9.7, each per 1,000 residents a year.
Is crime going up in St. John's?
No: the index fell 13%, from 136.8 in 2023 to 119.3 in 2025.
How much of St. John's’s crime do police solve?
About 33% of crime is cleared, weighted by seriousness, with 47% of violent and 23% of other crime; the figure for the typical Canadian town of 50,000+ is 38%.
Whose figures are these?
Those of the police service that covers the whole city.
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).