Photo: Original uploader was Rangeley at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Recorded crime per resident is higher in Sussex than in 72% of Canadian towns
Its Crime Severity Index dropped from 94.8 in 2023 to 89.1 by 2025. Violence accounts for an index of 92.8 and other offences for 84, against usual levels of 85.7 and 62.8. On crime the police covering Sussex reported from 2023 to 2025, it grades C for safety: #38 of 59 in New Brunswick. Police counts work out at 16.7 violent incidents and 36.2 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents annually; in the typical town its size they are 12.9 and 31.2.
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 Sussex detachment area: crime severity, crime rate and incident counts.
What stands out about safety in Sussex
Mischief: high for a town its size
Sussex records 10.1 incidents of mischief per 1,000 residents a year, against 4.9 in the typical town among Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people. By type ↓
Higher than many towns its size
Of the 40 Canadian towns nearest it in size, Sussex places 30th from the lowest index. Towns its size ↓
About the New Brunswick norm
Sussex’s index of 86 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.
The grade: C for Sussex
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: #38 of 59 in New Brunswick and #1,785 of 2,572 Canadian towns.
The Crime Severity Index and its two halves, beside the typical figure for Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people.
Sussex’s crime by kind
Against the typical town its size, Sussex runs highest on mischief (10.1 per 1,000 against 4.9), break and enter (5.2 per 1,000 against 2.8) and fraud (6.1 per 1,000 against 4.9). Motor vehicle theft 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 | 11.7 | 0.6 | 60% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 3 | 0.2 | — |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 5.3 | 0.3 | 75% |
| Robbery | 3 | 0.2 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 1 | 0.05 | — |
| Other violent violations | 6.7 | 0.3 | 40% |
| Breaking and entering | 102 | 5.2 | 17% |
| Possession of stolen property | 18.3 | 0.9 | 48% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 43.3 | 2.2 | 15% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 8.7 | 0.4 | 11% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 212.3 | 10.8 | 28% |
| Mischief | 198 | 10.1 | 7% |
| Weapons violations | 9.7 | 0.5 | 52% |
| Administration of justice violations | 73.7 | 3.7 | 62% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 27 | 1.4 | 17% |
| Drug violations | 17.7 | 0.9 | 36% |
| Impaired driving | 58.7 | 3 | 55% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 0.7 | 0.03 | — |
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 to 10,000 people.
By its index, Sussex stands 30th of 40 towns its size
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Northern Bruce Peninsula Ontario | 5,018 | 29.3 | 46.7 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 22 | Starlight Village New Brunswick | 5,108 | 63.2 | 81.9 | B− |
| … | |||||
| 25 | Coverdale New Brunswick | 5,167 | 72.8 | 74.8 | C+ |
| … | |||||
| 27 | Hearst Ontario | 5,032 | 74.2 | 97.9 | C+ |
| 28 | Gibsons British Columbia | 5,090 | 76.6 | 94 | C+ |
| 29 | Montréal-Est Quebec | 5,112 | 80.3 | 115.7 | C |
| 30 | Sussex New Brunswick | 4,994 | 86 | 92.8 | C |
| 31 | Annapolis County, Subdivision B Nova Scotia | 5,086 | 96 | 107.6 | C− |
| 32 | Electoral Area D, Peace River British Columbia | 5,100 | 107.6 | 157.4 | C− |
| 33 | Carbonear Newfoundland and Labrador | 5,041 | 108 | 83.3 | C− |
| … | |||||
| 38 | St. Stephen New Brunswick | 4,876 | 143.6 | 115 | D |
| … | |||||
| 40 | Nipawin Saskatchewan | 5,033 | 182.3 | 163.9 | 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 Sussex in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
20,000 residents, about 330 violent incidents a year: the police area Sussex belongs to, 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 710 a year and other violations 320 (2023–2025 average). Of 1,000 dots, one per resident, the coloured ones are a year’s incidents at these rates.
Sussex, year by year
Crime Severity Index
The first year, 2023, was the heaviest at 94.8, and 2024 the lightest at 74.1. The typical Canadian town its size went from 74.3 in 2023 to 64.2 in 2025.
Every year as a table
| Year | Sussex | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 89.1 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 74.1 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 94.8 | 74.3 |
Statistics Canada, Crime Severity Index by police service, each year as published. Typical: the median of Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people.
The Crime Severity Index of the police covering Sussex, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Crime in the places around Sussex
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sussex | 4,994 | 86 | 92.8 | C |
| Sussex Corner | 1,532 | 86 | 92.8 | C |
| Studholm | 3,668 | 86 | 92.8 | C |
| Sussex | 2,742 | 86 | 92.8 | C |
| Cardwell | 1,538 | 86 | 92.8 | C |
| Norton | 1,551 | 37.7 | 35.6 | A |
Same police, same number: 4 neighbours drop out of the comparison for that reason.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What 100 means. The index is scaled so that Canada as a whole scored 100 in its base year, 2006: a town at 50 has half that severity per resident.
- The clearance rate. Cleared means solved by police, charged or not; it says nothing about what courts decide.
- Severity, weighed. Each incident counts by its seriousness, judged from court sentences, and the total is set per resident. As Statistics Canada puts it, “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.”
- A wider policing area. An RCMP or OPP detachment reports one set of figures for everywhere it polices, so Sussex’s are shared with its surroundings.
Questions about safety in Sussex
Is Sussex safe?
On Statistics Canada’s figures, Sussex scores 86 on the Crime Severity Index for 2023–2025, with 16.7 violent and 36.2 property incidents per 1,000 residents a year. The middle of Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people is 68.5.
What is the most common crime in Sussex?
The three biggest groups are theft under $5,000 at 10.8, mischief at 10.1 and other Criminal Code offences at 10, each per 1,000 residents a year.
Is crime going up in Sussex?
Over 2023–2025 the index dropped 6%, to 89.1 from 94.8.
How much of Sussex’s crime do police solve?
Police cleared 28% of crime once each incident is weighted by seriousness: 49% of violent crime and 18% of the rest, against 34% for the typical Canadian town its size.
Whose figures are these?
Those of the police serving Sussex together with its neighbours or the countryside around it.
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).