Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainKent has more crime per resident than four in five Canadian towns
Its violent half comes to 122.4 and its non-violent half to 104.7, where the norm is 86.4 and 62.8. Violence and property crime split as 19.6 violent incidents and 39.0 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents a year, beside 12.0 and 31.2 in the typical Canadian town of 2,500+. The Safety Grade comes out at C−, drawn from crime the police covering Kent reported through 2023 to 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. Crime severity, crime rate and incident counts for the Western Valley Region detachment area.
What stands out about safety in Kent
Mischief: high for a town its size
Kent records 12.3 incidents of mischief per 1,000 residents a year, against 4.2 in the typical town among Canadian towns of 2,500 people or more. By type ↓
Down since 2023
Kent’s index went from 136 in 2023 to 100.1 in 2025; the typical Canadian town of 2,500+ moved from 70.6 to 62.9. Year by year ↓
Above New Brunswick’s typical town
Within New Brunswick, the median town comes to 72.8 on the index, against 109.1 in Kent. Towns its size ↓
A low clearance rate
Weighted by seriousness, 23% of crime in Kent ends in a charge or is otherwise solved: 46% of violent crime and 13% of the rest. Across Canadian towns of 2,500 people or more the figure is 34%. 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 Kent’s C−
How sure: A less certain grade than most, because the figures belong to the nearest detachment, 10 km from Kent, not to the town.
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.
The Crime Severity Index and its two halves, beside the typical figure for Canadian towns of 2,500 people or more.
Kent’s index fell 26% from 2023 to 2025
Crime Severity Index
Its heaviest year came first: 2023, at 136, against a low of 91.2 in 2024. The typical Canadian town of 2,500+ went from 70.6 in 2023 to 62.9 in 2025.
Every year as a table
| Year | Kent | Typical town of 2,500+ |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 100.1 | 62.9 |
| 2024 | 91.2 | 68.5 |
| 2023 | 136 | 70.6 |
Statistics Canada, Crime Severity Index by police service, each year as published. Typical: the median of Canadian towns of 2,500 people or more.
The Crime Severity Index of the police covering Kent, each year, against the typical Canadian town of 2,500+.
Which crimes make up Kent’s figures
Against the typical town its size, Kent runs highest on mischief (12.3 per 1,000 against 4.2), break and enter (5.9 per 1,000 against 2.5) and motor vehicle theft (3.8 per 1,000 against 2.4). Theft under $5,000 sits below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0 | 0 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 8.3 | 0.4 | 64% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 11 | 0.5 | 100% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 10 | 0.4 | 40% |
| Robbery | 2.3 | 0.1 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 3.3 | 0.1 | — |
| Other violent violations | 10 | 0.4 | 27% |
| Breaking and entering | 132.7 | 5.9 | 10% |
| Possession of stolen property | 58.7 | 2.6 | 26% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 86 | 3.8 | 6% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 15 | 0.7 | 5% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 126 | 5.6 | 8% |
| Mischief | 277 | 12.3 | 6% |
| Weapons violations | 15.7 | 0.7 | 57% |
| Administration of justice violations | 100.3 | 4.4 | 65% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 41.7 | 1.9 | 19% |
| Drug violations | 17 | 0.8 | 41% |
| Impaired driving | 48.7 | 2.2 | 41% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 1.7 | 0.07 | — |
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 people or more.
The detachment closest to Kent, 23,100 residents, recorded about 440 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 880 property crimes and 420 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 Kent
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kent | 2,028 | 109.1 | 122.4 | C− |
| Wicklow | 1,558 | 109.1 | 122.4 | C− |
| Florenceville-Bristol | 1,583 | 109.1 | 122.4 | C− |
| Peel | 1,176 | 109.1 | 122.4 | C− |
| Perth | 1,113 | 163.7 | 160.4 | D |
3 neighbours are on the same police service or detachment: they share the figure and aren’t compared here.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The index’s scale. 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.
- What clearance means. Weighted like the index, so solving one assault counts for more than solving a mischief; a charge laid, recommended or otherwise resolved all count.
- An index, not a verdict. 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.”
Questions about safety in Kent
Is Kent safe?
Its police recorded 19.6 violent incidents and 39 property crimes a year per 1,000 residents over 2023–2025, which gives Kent a Crime Severity Index of 109.1. In the middle of Canadian towns of 2,500 people or more the figure is 67.2.
What is the most common crime in Kent?
Most often it is mischief: 12.3 per 1,000 residents a year. Next come other Criminal Code offences at 11.3 and assault at 8.5.
Is crime going up in Kent?
It went down 26% between 2023 and 2025, from 136 to 100.1.
How much of Kent’s crime do police solve?
The weighted clearance rate is 23%: 46% for violent crime and 13% for non-violent. For the typical Canadian town of 2,500+ it is 34%.
Whose figures are these?
A shared service or detachment’s, reported as one for Kent 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).