Photo: Torbenbrinker|Torbenbrinker · CC BY-SA 3.0More crimes per resident are recorded in Deer Lake than in 77% of Canadian towns
Of the two halves, violence comes to 98.9 and other offences to 96, beside norms of 85.7 and 62.8. Its Safety Grade is C−, on crime the police covering Deer Lake reported from 2023 to 2025: #26 of 32 in Newfoundland and Labrador. Add to that, each year brought 16.8 violent incidents and 34.9 incidents of property crime for every 1,000 residents (12.9 and 31.2 in the typical town its size). In 2023 the index stood at 83.4; it rose to 94.2 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. Crime severity, crime rate and incident counts: one figure for all of the Deer Lake detachment area.
What stands out about safety in Deer Lake
Drug offences: high for a town its size
Deer Lake records 4.3 incidents of drug offences per 1,000 residents a year, against 0.7 in the typical town among Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people. By type ↓
A higher index than most towns its size
Set among the 40 Canadian towns closest to it in population, Deer Lake comes 35th, counting from the lowest Crime Severity Index. Towns its size ↓
Close to Newfoundland and Labrador’s typical town
The typical Newfoundland and Labrador town scores 81; Deer Lake, 96.2. Towns its size ↓
Non-violent crime leads the index
Violent crime scores 98.9 on Deer Lake’s index against 85.7 for the typical Canadian town its size; non-violent crime, 96 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 Deer Lake’s grade
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: #26 of 32 in Newfoundland and Labrador and #1,910 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.
Which crimes make up Deer Lake’s figures
Against the typical town its size, Deer Lake runs highest on drug offences (4.3 per 1,000 against 0.7), mischief (18.9 per 1,000 against 4.9) and assault (8.6 per 1,000 against 6.7). 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 | 0.3 | 0.03 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 5.3 | 0.5 | 62% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 2.7 | 0.3 | — |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 0.3 | 0.04 | — |
| Robbery | 2 | 0.2 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 1.7 | 0.2 | — |
| Other violent violations | 3 | 0.3 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 26.7 | 2.8 | 6% |
| Possession of stolen property | 3.7 | 0.4 | — |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 12.7 | 1.4 | 8% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 3.7 | 0.4 | — |
| Theft under $5,000 | 54.3 | 5.7 | 24% |
| Mischief | 174.3 | 18.9 | 6% |
| Weapons violations | 3.7 | 0.4 | — |
| Administration of justice violations | 58.7 | 6.4 | 73% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 15.7 | 1.7 | 34% |
| Drug violations | 38.3 | 4.3 | 18% |
| Impaired driving | 56.3 | 6.1 | 35% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 1.3 | 0.2 | — |
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.
Deer Lake comes 35th of the 40 towns nearest in size
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Norwood Ontario | 5,308 | 25.2 | 31.4 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 32 | Montréal-Ouest Quebec | 5,197 | 80.3 | 115.7 | C |
| 33 | Espanola Ontario | 5,504 | 90.6 | 123.8 | C |
| 34 | Marystown Newfoundland and Labrador | 5,196 | 90.8 | 93 | C |
| 35 | Deer Lake Newfoundland and Labrador | 5,319 | 96.2 | 98.9 | C− |
| 36 | Chisasibi Quebec | 5,382 | 103.6 | 197.1 | C− |
| 37 | Kneehill County Alberta | 5,129 | 110.8 | 105.9 | C− |
| 38 | Antigonish Nova Scotia | 5,175 | 115.4 | 123.5 | C− |
| … | |||||
| 40 | Oliver British Columbia | 5,262 | 132.5 | 95.2 | 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 Deer Lake in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Deer Lake, year by year
Crime Severity Index
Its index peaked in 2024 at 111.1, between two lighter years; the lowest, 2023, came in at 83.4. Over 2023–2025, the typical Canadian town its size moved from 74.3 to 64.2.
Every year as a table
| Year | Deer Lake | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 94.2 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 111.1 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 83.4 | 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 Deer Lake, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
8,250 residents, about 150 violent incidents a year: the police area Deer Lake 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 320 a year and other violations 240 (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 Deer Lake
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deer Lake | 5,319 | 96.2 | 98.9 | C− |
| Pasadena (22 km) | 3,930 | 96.2 | 98.9 | C− |
| Irishtown-Summerside (43 km) | 1,296 | 75.2 | 71.4 | C+ |
| Massey Drive (43 km) | 1,760 | 75.2 | 71.4 | C+ |
| Corner Brook (46 km) | 20,549 | 58.8 | 70.5 | B |
Deer Lake has the highest index of the places around it. Just 42.8 km away, Irishtown-Summerside comes to 75.2, against 96.2. The table leaves out one neighbour whose figure is this one, reported by the same police.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means. The nearest places to Deer Lake with figures are 22–46 km away.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- A wider policing area. The detachment counts crime across its whole territory, of which Deer Lake is one part.
- What 100 means. A reading of 100 is the whole country in 2006. Half of that, 50, means half the severity per resident.
- The clearance rate. 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.
- Severity, weighed. 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.”
Questions about safety in Deer Lake
Is Deer Lake safe?
Deer Lake measures 96.2 on the Crime Severity Index for 2023–2025, next to 68.5 for Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people. Per 1,000 residents a year, its police record 16.8 violent incidents and 34.9 property crimes.
What is the most common crime in Deer Lake?
Police record mischief most, 18.9 per 1,000 residents a year, ahead of other Criminal Code offences (13) and assault (8.6).
Is crime going up in Deer Lake?
It has: 83.4 in 2023 became 94.2 by 2025, a rise of 13%.
How much of Deer Lake’s crime do police solve?
About 31% of crime is cleared, weighted by seriousness, with 59% of violent and 19% of other crime; the figure for the typical Canadian town its size is 34%.
Whose figures are these?
Those of the police serving Deer Lake 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).