Photo: Erikallen920 · CC BY-SA 4.0St. George's sees more crime per resident than 88% of Canadian towns
By 2025 the index had climbed to 138.2, up from 121.1 in 2023. On top of that, its Safety Grade is D, on crime the police covering St. George's reported from 2023 to 2025. Of the two halves, violence comes to 115.3 and other offences to 134.3, beside norms of 86.4 and 62.8. Typical years here bring 24.2 violent incidents plus 55.4 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents, against 12.0 plus 31.2 in the typical Canadian town of 2,500+.
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 Bay St. George detachment area.
What stands out about safety in St. George's
Mischief: high for a town its size
St. George's records 27.8 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 ↓
Over the Newfoundland and Labrador norm
Set among Newfoundland and Labrador’s towns, whose median is 81, St. George's scores 128.1. Towns its size ↓
The non-violent half stands out
Violent crime scores 115.3 on St. George's’s index against 86.4 for the typical Canadian town of 2,500+; non-violent crime, 134.3 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 sits behind St. George's’s D
How sure: A less certain grade than most, because the figures belong to the nearest detachment, 16 km from St. George's, not to the town.
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 St. George's’s figures
Against the typical town its size, St. George's runs highest on mischief (27.8 per 1,000 against 4.2), drug offences (4.6 per 1,000 against 0.7) and break and enter (5.4 per 1,000 against 2.5).
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0 | 0 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 7.3 | 0.4 | 55% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 7.7 | 0.4 | 100% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 6 | 0.3 | 72% |
| Robbery | 5.3 | 0.3 | 70% |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 2.3 | 0.1 | — |
| Other violent violations | 14 | 0.8 | 41% |
| Breaking and entering | 100 | 5.4 | 13% |
| Possession of stolen property | 5.3 | 0.3 | 38% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 26.7 | 1.5 | 11% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 6.3 | 0.3 | 21% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 250.7 | 13.6 | 27% |
| Mischief | 511.3 | 27.8 | 5% |
| Weapons violations | 9 | 0.5 | 44% |
| Administration of justice violations | 229 | 12.4 | 72% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 46 | 2.5 | 37% |
| Drug violations | 85 | 4.6 | 7% |
| Impaired driving | 102 | 5.5 | 30% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 0.7 | 0.04 | — |
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.
St. George's, year by year
Crime Severity Index
Its index peaked most recently, in 2025 (138.2); 2023 was the low point, at 121.1. 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 | St. George's | Typical town of 2,500+ |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 138.2 | 62.9 |
| 2024 | 125 | 68.5 |
| 2023 | 121.1 | 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 St. George's, each year, against the typical Canadian town of 2,500+.
The detachment nearest St. George's, 18,400 residents: around 450 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.
Property crime adds about 1,020 a year and other violations 680 (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 St. George's
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. George's | 1,181 | 128.1 | 115.3 | D |
| Stephenville Crossing | 1,731 | 128.1 | 115.3 | D |
| Stephenville | 6,840 | 128.1 | 115.3 | D |
| Kippens | 1,927 | 128.1 | 115.3 | D |
Same police, same number: 3 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 the index measures. 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.”
- 100 is Canada in 2006. Canada’s own index has been below its 2006 base of 100 for years, so 100 marks a fixed reference, not today’s national average.
- Cleared, not convicted. Weighted like the index, so solving one assault counts for more than solving a mischief; a charge laid, recommended or otherwise resolved all count.
Questions about safety in St. George's
Is St. George's safe?
Against a typical 67.2 for Canadian towns of 2,500 people or more, St. George's’s Crime Severity Index stands at 128.1 for 2023–2025. Its police record 24.2 violent incidents and 55.4 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year.
What is the most common crime in St. George's?
Mischief is the most common, at 27.8 per 1,000 residents a year, then other Criminal Code offences (24.5) and theft under $5,000 (13.6).
Is crime going up in St. George's?
Yes: the index rose 14%, from 121.1 in 2023 to 138.2 in 2025.
How much of St. George's’s crime do police solve?
Police cleared 26% of crime once each incident is weighted by seriousness: 52% of violent crime and 17% of the rest, against 34% for the typical Canadian town of 2,500+.
Whose figures are these?
Those of the police serving St. George's 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).