Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Saint John records more crime per resident than two in three Canadian towns
Each year brought 16.1 violent incidents and 34.4 incidents of property crime for every 1,000 residents (10.8 and 25.1 in the typical town its size). Statistics Canada puts its Crime Severity Index at 81.5 for 2023–2025; the typical Canadian town its size scores 60.3. On the record of crime the police covering Saint John reported from 2023 to 2025, it takes C for safety: #34 of 59 in New Brunswick. Its 5 neighbours with figures all record 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.
What stands out about safety in Saint John
Heavier than in 2023
From 69.9 in 2023 to 98.5 in 2025: that is Saint John’s index, against 64.3 and 59.2 for the typical Canadian town its size. Year by year ↓
Mischief: high for a town its size
Saint John records 7.6 incidents of mischief per 1,000 residents a year, against 3.8 in the typical town among Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more. By type ↓
Higher than many towns its size
Of the 40 Canadian towns nearest it in size, Saint John places 29th from the lowest index. Towns its size ↓
Near the New Brunswick middle
Saint John’s index of 81.5 compares with 72.8 for the typical town in New Brunswick. 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.
What sits behind Saint John’s C
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: #34 of 59 in New Brunswick and #1,738 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.
In Saint John, up 41% between 2023 and 2025
Crime Severity Index
Of the years charted, 2025 weighed most (98.5) and 2023 least (69.9). For the typical Canadian town its size, 2023 gave 64.3 and 2025 gave 59.2.
Every year as a table
| Year | Saint John | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 98.5 | 59.2 |
| 2024 | 76.1 | 59.9 |
| 2023 | 69.9 | 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 Saint John, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
What police record in Saint John, by type
Against the typical town its size, Saint John runs highest on mischief (7.6 per 1,000 against 3.8), assault (9.2 per 1,000 against 4.9) and robbery (0.6 per 1,000 against 0.4). Fraud and motor vehicle theft sit below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 3.7 | 0.05 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 17 | 0.2 | 8% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 45 | 0.6 | 96% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 4 | 0.05 | — |
| Robbery | 44.7 | 0.6 | 46% |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 0.7 | 0.01 | — |
| Other violent violations | 5 | 0.06 | 60% |
| Breaking and entering | 261 | 3.4 | 26% |
| Possession of stolen property | 30.7 | 0.4 | 74% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 88 | 1.1 | 28% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 47.7 | 0.6 | 17% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 1,364.7 | 17.5 | 16% |
| Mischief | 587 | 7.6 | 20% |
| Weapons violations | 35 | 0.5 | 66% |
| Administration of justice violations | 628.3 | 8.1 | 71% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 40.3 | 0.5 | 76% |
| Drug violations | 52.3 | 0.7 | 80% |
| Impaired driving | 79 | 1 | 92% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 9 | 0.1 | 14% |
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 50,000 people or more.
Among 40 towns its size, Saint John places 29th
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Repentigny Quebec | 91,290 | 28.1 | 48.2 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 26 | Belleville Ontario | 62,914 | 76.8 | 94.1 | C+ |
| 27 | Saint-Jérôme Quebec | 85,160 | 77.6 | 129.6 | C+ |
| 28 | Sarnia Ontario | 80,539 | 79.4 | 105.1 | C |
| 29 | Saint John New Brunswick | 79,371 | 81.5 | 114.2 | C |
| 30 | North Vancouver British Columbia | 66,624 | 81.6 | 62.7 | C |
| 31 | Medicine Hat Alberta | 68,714 | 87.3 | 82.6 | C |
| 32 | North Bay Ontario | 62,062 | 87.5 | 124.1 | C |
| … | |||||
| 34 | Fredericton New Brunswick | 74,655 | 92.3 | 101.9 | C |
| … | |||||
| 37 | Moncton New Brunswick | 102,378 | 113.1 | 113.3 | C− |
| … | |||||
| 40 | Prince George British Columbia | 85,944 | 209.1 | 239.6 | 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 Saint John in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Police in Saint John recorded about 1,250 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 2,670 property crimes and 1,070 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 Saint John
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint John | 79,371 | 81.5 | 114.2 | C |
| Grand Bay-Westfield | 5,202 | 58.8 | 54.7 | B− |
| Rothesay | 12,626 | 20 | 27.9 | A+ |
| Westfield | 2,245 | 58.8 | 54.7 | B− |
| Quispamsis | 20,240 | 20 | 27.9 | A+ |
| Simonds | 4,263 | 37.7 | 35.6 | A |
Each neighbour with its own figure comes in under Saint John. Grand Bay-Westfield, 12.2 km away, is the nearest lower one, at 58.8 to 81.5.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Solved cases. The clearance rate is the share of incidents police solve, by a charge or otherwise, weighted by seriousness like the index. It isn’t a conviction rate.
- How serious, not how safe. The index weighs crimes rather than counting them: a serious offence moves it far more than a minor one. Statistics Canada is plain about its limits: “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.”
- Reading the number. A reading of 100 is the whole country in 2006. Half of that, 50, means half the severity per resident.
Questions about safety in Saint John
Is Saint John safe?
Saint John’s Crime Severity Index is 81.5 (2023–2025 mean); its police record 16.1 violent incidents and 34.4 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year. In the middle of Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more the figure is 60.3.
What is the most common crime in Saint John?
Police record theft under $5,000 most, 17.5 per 1,000 residents a year, ahead of other Criminal Code offences (10.6) and assault (9.2).
Is crime going up in Saint John?
Up 41%: 69.9 in 2023, 98.5 in 2025.
How much of Saint John’s crime do police solve?
Police cleared 41% of crime once each incident is weighted by seriousness: 59% of violent crime and 29% of the rest, against 38% for the typical Canadian town its size.
Whose figures are these?
They are Saint John’s own: its police cover the town and no other.
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).