Photo: Chaughten · CC BY-SA 3.0Per resident, Nain records more crime than almost every Canadian town
Its violent half comes to 1,280.3 and its non-violent half to 525.4, where the norm is 86.4 and 62.8. Out of every 1,000 residents, 192.8 violent incidents and 437.3 incidents of property crime are reported annually, against 12.0 and 31.2 in the typical Canadian town of 2,500+. Add to that, on the record of crime the police covering Nain reported from 2023 to 2025, it takes D− for safety.
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. The crime severity, crime rate and incident counts numbers here cover the Nain detachment area.
What stands out about safety in Nain
Mischief: high for a town its size
Nain records 391.8 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 ↓
Higher than most of Newfoundland and Labrador
Set among Newfoundland and Labrador’s towns, whose median is 81, Nain scores 736.6. Towns its size ↓
Violence weighs more than the rest
Violent crime scores 1,280.3 on Nain’s index against 86.4 for the typical Canadian town of 2,500+; non-violent crime, 525.4 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 Nain’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.
The Crime Severity Index and its two halves, beside the typical figure for Canadian towns of 2,500 people or more.
Which crimes make up Nain’s figures
Against the typical town its size, Nain runs highest on mischief (391.8 per 1,000 against 4.2), assault (131.4 per 1,000 against 6.7) and sexual assault (13.7 per 1,000 against 0.8).
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0.7 | 0.5 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 5.7 | 4.7 | 53% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 8.3 | 6.8 | 93% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 0.3 | 0.3 | — |
| Robbery | 0 | 0 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 3 | 2.5 | — |
| Other violent violations | 3 | 2.5 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 15 | 12.3 | 31% |
| Possession of stolen property | 0 | 0 | — |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 5.3 | 4.4 | 19% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Theft under $5,000 | 21.7 | 17.8 | 15% |
| Mischief | 476.7 | 391.8 | 4% |
| Weapons violations | 2.3 | 1.9 | — |
| Administration of justice violations | 65.7 | 54 | 56% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 27.7 | 22.7 | 78% |
| Drug violations | 3 | 2.5 | — |
| Impaired driving | 63 | 51.7 | 22% |
| 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 230 violent incidents a year in the 1,220-resident police area around Nain, 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.
And about 530 property crimes, plus 270 other violations, a year (2023–2025 average). Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot, one incident a year at the area’s rates.
The index in Nain, each year
Crime Severity Index
Its most recent year, 2025, was also its heaviest (911.4); the lightest was 2024 (631.5). Set beside it, the typical Canadian town of 2,500+ went from 70.6 in 2023 to 62.9 in 2025.
Every year as a table
| Year | Nain | Typical town of 2,500+ |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 911.4 | 62.9 |
| 2024 | 631.5 | 68.5 |
| 2023 | 666.7 | 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 Nain, each year, against the typical Canadian town of 2,500+.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Reading the number. Its scale starts from Canada in 2006, set at 100, so a figure above 100 means more serious crime per resident than the country had then.
- 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.”
- Read with care. About 1,222 people live in the area these figures cover; at that size one bad year shows up large. Statistics Canada says: “Data for police services or detachments with populations less than 5,000 should be used with caution.”
- Town and surroundings together. An RCMP or OPP detachment reports one set of figures for everywhere it polices, so Nain’s are shared with its surroundings.
Questions about safety in Nain
Is Nain safe?
Against a typical 67.2 for Canadian towns of 2,500 people or more, Nain’s Crime Severity Index stands at 736.6 for 2023–2025. Its police record 192.8 violent incidents and 437.3 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year.
What is the most common crime in Nain?
Most often it is mischief: 391.8 per 1,000 residents a year. Next come other Criminal Code offences at 162.4 and assault at 131.4.
Is crime going up in Nain?
Over 2023–2025 the index climbed 37%, to 911.4 from 666.7. The police area is small or partly reported, so treat the change with care.
How much of Nain’s crime do police solve?
The weighted clearance rate is 35%: 52% for violent crime and 23% for non-violent. For the typical Canadian town of 2,500+ it is 34%.
Whose figures are these?
A shared service or detachment’s, reported as one for Nain and everywhere else it polices.
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).