Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Recorded crime per resident is higher in Gander than in 78% of Canadian towns
Scored on crime the police covering Gander reported across 2023 to 2025, the town lands on C− for safety: #28 of 32 in Newfoundland and Labrador. Newfoundland and Labrador’s towns sit around 81, midway up their range. Police counts work out at 19.5 violent incidents and 46.0 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents annually; in the typical town its size they are 12.0 and 30.5. On top of that, a Crime Severity Index of 97.2, the 2023–2025 mean, compares with 66 for the typical Canadian town its size.
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 behind the crime severity, crime rate and incident counts figures: the Gander detachment area.
What stands out about safety in Gander
Mischief: high for a town its size
Gander records 18.9 incidents of mischief per 1,000 residents a year, against 3.7 in the typical town among Canadian towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people. By type ↓
Heavier on property and other crime
Set beside the typical Canadian town its size, Gander’s two halves part ways: 80.6 for violence (typical 89.4) and 104.7 for the rest (typical 56). By type ↓
A higher index than most towns its size
Of the 40 Canadian towns nearest it in size, Gander places 33rd from the lowest index. Towns its size ↓
Below-typical clearance
Police cleared 21% of Gander’s crime, weighted by seriousness (43% of violent crime, 14% of the rest), against 33% across Canadian towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people. Questions ↓
Written from Statistics Canada’s police-reported crime by police service and detachment, 2023–2025. Figures are what police recorded, not convictions.
Inside Gander’s C− for safety
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: #28 of 32 in Newfoundland and Labrador and #1,926 of 2,572 Canadian towns.
The Crime Severity Index and its two halves, beside the typical figure for Canadian towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people.
Gander’s crime by kind
Against the typical town its size, Gander runs highest on mischief (18.9 per 1,000 against 3.7), drug offences (3.1 per 1,000 against 0.8) and theft under $5,000 (17.8 per 1,000 against 11.8). Motor vehicle theft sits below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0 | 0 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 3 | 0.2 | — |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 4 | 0.3 | — |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 0.7 | 0.05 | — |
| Robbery | 5 | 0.4 | 54% |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 0.7 | 0.05 | — |
| Other violent violations | 4 | 0.3 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 39.3 | 2.8 | 10% |
| Possession of stolen property | 7.7 | 0.5 | 13% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 9.7 | 0.7 | 13% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 4.7 | 0.3 | — |
| Theft under $5,000 | 250.3 | 17.8 | 26% |
| Mischief | 265 | 18.9 | 5% |
| Weapons violations | 6.7 | 0.5 | 49% |
| Administration of justice violations | 83 | 5.9 | 70% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 29 | 2.1 | 17% |
| Drug violations | 43 | 3.1 | 8% |
| Impaired driving | 69 | 4.9 | 21% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 3.7 | 0.3 | — |
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 10,000 to 50,000 people.
Gander comes 33rd of the 40 towns nearest in size
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rothesay New Brunswick | 12,626 | 20 | 27.9 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 30 | Amos Quebec | 12,773 | 78.7 | 145.2 | C |
| 31 | Elliot Lake Ontario | 12,317 | 86.6 | 123.3 | C |
| 32 | Wetaskiwin County No. 10 Alberta | 12,117 | 88.9 | 60 | C |
| 33 | Gander Newfoundland and Labrador | 12,707 | 97.2 | 80.6 | C− |
| 34 | Nelson British Columbia | 12,126 | 100.4 | 98.4 | C− |
| 35 | Bathurst New Brunswick | 13,331 | 108.4 | 151.1 | C− |
| 36 | Lac Ste. Anne County Alberta | 12,639 | 120 | 99.2 | D |
| … | |||||
| 40 | Thompson Manitoba | 12,917 | 589.9 | 1,034.6 | 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 Gander in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
14,200 residents, about 270 violent incidents a year: the police area Gander 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.
Add about 650 property crimes and 370 other violations a year (2023–2025 average). The grid is 1,000 residents, a coloured dot for each incident a year at these rates.
Gander’s index held steady from 2023 to 2025
Crime Severity Index
2024 was the peak (106.5) and 2025 the trough (90.5). The typical Canadian town its size went from 69.5 in 2023 to 60 in 2025.
Every year as a table
| Year | Gander | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 90.5 | 60 |
| 2024 | 106.5 | 67.9 |
| 2023 | 94.6 | 69.5 |
Statistics Canada, Crime Severity Index by police service, each year as published. Typical: the median of Canadian towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people.
The Crime Severity Index of the police covering Gander, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Crime in the places around Gander
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gander | 12,707 | 97.2 | 80.6 | C− |
| Gambo (36 km) | 1,859 | 63.9 | 73.4 | B− |
| Lewisporte (45 km) | 3,405 | 66.2 | 61.2 | B− |
| Division No. 8, Subdivision L (46 km) | 2,724 | 73.3 | 54.3 | C+ |
Each neighbour with its own figure comes in under Gander. Gambo, 35.8 km away, is the nearest lower one, at 63.9 to 97.2.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means. The nearest places to Gander with figures are 36–46 km away.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Solved cases. A crime is cleared when police lay or recommend a charge, or solve it another way; the weighted rate counts serious crimes for more.
- How serious, not how safe. 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.
- Town and surroundings together. An RCMP or OPP detachment reports one set of figures for everywhere it polices, so Gander’s are shared with its surroundings.
- Reading the number. Statistics Canada set the national index at 100 for 2006; every figure here is read against that.
Questions about safety in Gander
Is Gander safe?
A Crime Severity Index of 97.2 (2023–2025), set beside a median of 66 for Canadian towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people: that is where Gander stands, with 19.5 violent and 46 property incidents per 1,000 residents a year.
What is the most common crime in Gander?
Top of the list is mischief (18.9 per 1,000 residents a year); theft under $5,000, at 17.8, and other Criminal Code offences, at 16.9, follow.
Is crime going up in Gander?
Barely: 94.6 in 2023, 90.5 in 2025.
How much of Gander’s crime do police solve?
The weighted clearance rate is 21%: 43% for violent crime and 14% for non-violent. For the typical Canadian town its size it is 33%.
Whose figures are these?
A police service or detachment that covers Gander 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).