Photo: Dennis G. Jarvis · CC BY-SA 2.0Barrington sees more crime per resident than 63% of Canadian towns
Violence accounts for an index of 96.9 and other offences for 68.4, against usual levels of 85.7 and 62.8. Typical years here bring 22.4 violent incidents plus 29.4 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents, against 12.9 plus 31.2 in the typical town its size. Counting crime the police covering Barrington reported from 2023 to 2025, it grades C+ for safety: #60 of 88 in Nova Scotia. Even so, between 2023 and 2025 the severity figure fell, 79.3 to 72.3.
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-wide: crime severity, crime rate and incident counts, counted over the Barrington detachment area.
What stands out about safety in Barrington
Mischief: high for a town its size
Barrington records 13.5 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, Barrington places 26th from the lowest index. Towns its size ↓
Near the Nova Scotia middle
Barrington’s index of 76.1 compares with 71.4 for the typical town in Nova Scotia. 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.
What sits behind Barrington’s C+
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: #60 of 88 in Nova Scotia and #1,575 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.
Barrington’s crime by kind
Against the typical town its size, Barrington runs highest on mischief (13.5 per 1,000 against 4.9), drug offences (1 per 1,000 against 0.7) and assault (8.6 per 1,000 against 6.7). Fraud 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 | 3.3 | 0.4 | — |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 1 | 0.1 | — |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 0.3 | 0.04 | — |
| Robbery | 0 | 0 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 1.7 | 0.2 | — |
| Other violent violations | 3.3 | 0.4 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 20.7 | 2.7 | 21% |
| Possession of stolen property | 3.3 | 0.4 | — |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 17.7 | 2.3 | 38% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 4 | 0.5 | — |
| Theft under $5,000 | 41.3 | 5.5 | 37% |
| Mischief | 102.3 | 13.5 | 21% |
| Weapons violations | 2.7 | 0.4 | — |
| Administration of justice violations | 64 | 8.5 | 60% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 11 | 1.5 | 34% |
| Drug violations | 7.7 | 1 | 35% |
| Impaired driving | 39.7 | 5.2 | 35% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 0.3 | 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 to 10,000 people.
Barrington, year by year
Crime Severity Index
2023 opened the run as its heaviest year (79.3); 2025 was the lightest, at 72.3. For the typical Canadian town its size, 2023 gave 74.3 and 2025 gave 64.2.
Every year as a table
| Year | Barrington | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 72.3 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 76.8 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 79.3 | 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 Barrington, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Barrington is 26th of 40 towns its size, lowest index first
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beresford New Brunswick | 6,543 | 25 | 35.4 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 20 | Antigonish County, Subdivision B Nova Scotia | 6,486 | 66.6 | 81.7 | B− |
| … | |||||
| 23 | Kings County, Subdivision D Nova Scotia | 6,517 | 72.3 | 91.5 | C+ |
| 24 | Perth Ontario | 6,972 | 72.7 | 120.3 | C+ |
| 25 | Bay Roberts Newfoundland and Labrador | 6,407 | 74.1 | 64.3 | C+ |
| 26 | Barrington Nova Scotia | 6,720 | 76.1 | 96.9 | C+ |
| 27 | Devon Alberta | 6,965 | 76.7 | 61.5 | C+ |
| 28 | Pictou County, Subdivision A Nova Scotia | 6,575 | 83.9 | 99.7 | C |
| 29 | Pictou County, Subdivision B Nova Scotia | 6,482 | 83.9 | 99.7 | C |
| … | |||||
| 32 | Springhill Nova Scotia | 7,015 | 93.1 | 86.7 | C− |
| 33 | Annapolis County, Subdivision A Nova Scotia | 6,719 | 96 | 107.6 | C− |
| … | |||||
| 40 | St. Paul County No. 19 Alberta | 6,462 | 352.9 | 639.7 | 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 Barrington in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
The police area Barrington is part of, 7,560 residents, recorded about 170 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 220 a year and other violations 170 (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 Barrington
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barrington | 6,720 | 76.1 | 96.9 | C+ |
| Shelburne (39 km) | 1,797 | 83.2 | 118.8 | C |
| Shelburne (41 km) | 4,542 | 83.2 | 118.8 | C |
| Argyle (43 km) | 8,216 | 52.1 | 68.3 | B+ |
Nearby, 1 of 3 places with their own figures have a lower index than Barrington. Closest is Argyle, 42.5 km away, at 52.1 to 76.1 here.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means. No closer places have figures: these lie 39–43 km from Barrington.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- An index, not a verdict. Police-reported incidents, each multiplied by a weight drawn from court sentences, summed and divided by the population: that is the index, and its makers attach a caution, “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.”
- Shared with the countryside. An RCMP or OPP detachment reports one set of figures for everywhere it polices, so Barrington’s are shared with its surroundings.
- The index’s scale. Statistics Canada set the national index at 100 for 2006; every figure here is read against that.
- What clearance means. A crime is cleared when police lay or recommend a charge, or solve it another way; the weighted rate counts serious crimes for more.
Questions about safety in Barrington
Is Barrington safe?
On Statistics Canada’s figures, Barrington scores 76.1 on the Crime Severity Index for 2023–2025, with 22.4 violent and 29.4 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 Barrington?
Mischief is the most common, at 13.5 per 1,000 residents a year, then other Criminal Code offences (13.4) and assault (8.6).
Is crime going up in Barrington?
Down 9%: 79.3 in 2023, 72.3 in 2025.
How much of Barrington’s crime do police solve?
Police solve 55% of violent crime and 30% of everything else, 38% overall once each crime is weighted by seriousness, against 34% for the typical Canadian town its size.
Whose figures are these?
A police service or detachment that covers Barrington 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).