Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainPrince William records more crime per resident than 69% of Canadian towns
The typical town in New Brunswick scores 72.8 on the same index. What’s more, the grade is C, built on crime the police covering Prince William reported from 2023 to 2025. Police counts work out at 14.5 violent incidents and 34.1 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents annually; in the typical Canadian town of 2,500+ they are 12.0 and 31.2. Its Crime Severity Index averaged 81.7 over 2023–2025, against 67.2 for the typical Canadian town of 2,500+.
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. Area-wide: crime severity, crime rate and incident counts, counted over the Nackawic detachment area.
What stands out about safety in Prince William
Heavier than in 2023
Between 2023 and 2025, Prince William moved from 51.4 to 94.3, while the typical Canadian town of 2,500+ went from 70.6 to 62.9. Year by year ↓
Mischief: high for a town its size
Prince William records 8.3 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 ↓
Police clear less here
Weighted by seriousness, 20% of crime in Prince William ends in a charge or is otherwise solved: 48% of violent crime and 9% of the rest. Across Canadian towns of 2,500 people or more the figure is 34%. Questions ↓
Property and other crime weigh more
Violent crime scores 78.9 on Prince William’s index against 86.4 for the typical Canadian town of 2,500+; non-violent crime, 83.5 against 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.
What’s behind Prince William’s grade
How sure: Less sure, as Prince William has no detachment of its own in Statistics Canada’s tables and is graded on the closest one’s figures, 23 km away.
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.
Year by year in Prince William: up 83%, 2023 to 2025
Crime Severity Index
It rose to 99.3 in 2024 before easing, with the low of 51.4 in 2023. For the typical Canadian town of 2,500+, 2023 gave 70.6 and 2025 gave 62.9.
Every year as a table
| Year | Prince William | Typical town of 2,500+ |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 94.3 | 62.9 |
| 2024 | 99.3 | 68.5 |
| 2023 | 51.4 | 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 Prince William, each year, against the typical Canadian town of 2,500+.
Which crimes make up Prince William’s figures
Against the typical town its size, Prince William runs highest on break and enter (5.5 per 1,000 against 2.5) and mischief (8.3 per 1,000 against 4.2). Assault and theft under $5,000 sit below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0.3 | 0.05 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 4.3 | 0.6 | — |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 0 | 0 | — |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 2 | 0.3 | — |
| Robbery | 0.3 | 0.05 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 0 | 0 | — |
| Other violent violations | 1.3 | 0.2 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 38.7 | 5.5 | 6% |
| Possession of stolen property | 9.7 | 1.4 | 24% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 19.7 | 2.8 | 5% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 15.3 | 2.3 | 0% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 54.7 | 7.7 | 8% |
| Mischief | 59.3 | 8.3 | 7% |
| Weapons violations | 2 | 0.3 | — |
| Administration of justice violations | 19.3 | 2.8 | 48% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 10.7 | 1.5 | 9% |
| Drug violations | 4 | 0.6 | — |
| Impaired driving | 12.3 | 1.7 | 27% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 0 | 0 | — |
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.
Around 100 violent incidents a year at the detachment nearest Prince William (6,710 residents), 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 240 a year and other violations 75 (2023–2025 average). Of 1,000 dots, one per resident, the coloured ones are a year’s incidents at these rates.
Crime in the places around Prince William
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prince William | 1,233 | 81.7 | 78.9 | C |
| Queensbury | 1,421 | 81.7 | 78.9 | C |
| Kingsclear | 3,158 | 63.2 | 81.9 | B− |
One place nearby is policed together with it and reported as one, so there is nothing to compare.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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. Weighted like the index, so solving one assault counts for more than solving a mischief; a charge laid, recommended or otherwise resolved all count.
- Severity, weighed. Statistics Canada, which publishes the index, attaches a caution: “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.” The number weighs each reported crime by its seriousness before dividing by residents.
Questions about safety in Prince William
Is Prince William safe?
On Statistics Canada’s figures, Prince William scores 81.7 on the Crime Severity Index for 2023–2025, with 14.5 violent and 34.1 property incidents per 1,000 residents a year. Set that beside 67.2, the median for Canadian towns of 2,500 people or more.
What is the most common crime in Prince William?
The three biggest groups are mischief at 8.3, theft under $5,000 at 7.7 and other Criminal Code offences at 6.9, each per 1,000 residents a year.
Is crime going up in Prince William?
Yes: the index rose 83%, from 51.4 in 2023 to 94.3 in 2025.
How much of Prince William’s crime do police solve?
Police cleared 20% of crime once each incident is weighted by seriousness: 48% of violent crime and 9% of the rest, against 34% for the typical Canadian town of 2,500+.
Whose figures are these?
A police service or detachment that covers Prince William and other places, so the figures are shared.
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).