Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainFor recorded crime, Chester sits in the middle of Canadian towns
For solved cases, the weighted rate is 25%, where the typical Canadian town its size manages 33%. The overall Safety Grade is B− (#6 of 88 in Nova Scotia), which means close to the middle of Canadian towns, judged on crime its police reported from 2023 to 2025. Split in two, the index gives 76.8 for violence and 58.1 for everything else (normally 89.4 and 56). Per 1,000 residents a year, 15.1 violent incidents and 26.5 incidents of property crime were recorded, against 12.0 and 30.5 in the typical 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. Measured across the Lunenburg County detachment area: crime severity, crime rate and incident counts.
What stands out about safety in Chester
Mischief: high for a town its size
Chester records 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 ↓
Higher than many towns its size
Of the 40 Canadian towns nearest it in size, Chester places 26th from the lowest index. Towns its size ↓
Near the Nova Scotia middle
Chester’s index of 63.1 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.
The grade: B− for Chester
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: #6 of 88 in Nova Scotia and #951 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.
Chester’s crime by kind
Against the typical town its size, Chester runs highest on mischief (9 per 1,000 against 3.7) and fraud (6 per 1,000 against 5.1). Theft under $5,000 and motor vehicle theft sit below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0.7 | 0.02 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 11.3 | 0.3 | 42% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 8 | 0.2 | 100% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 4.3 | 0.1 | — |
| Robbery | 3 | 0.07 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 3.7 | 0.09 | — |
| Other violent violations | 13 | 0.3 | 33% |
| Breaking and entering | 100.7 | 2.4 | 11% |
| Possession of stolen property | 9 | 0.2 | 44% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 43.7 | 1 | 13% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 21.3 | 0.5 | 9% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 302.3 | 7.1 | 17% |
| Mischief | 380.3 | 9 | 9% |
| Weapons violations | 12.7 | 0.3 | 50% |
| Administration of justice violations | 144.7 | 3.4 | 43% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 57.7 | 1.4 | 21% |
| Drug violations | 40.3 | 1 | 15% |
| Impaired driving | 184.3 | 4.4 | 35% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 5.3 | 0.1 | 6% |
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.
Chester is 26th of 40 towns its size, lowest index first
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hamilton Ontario | 11,810 | 25.7 | 30.4 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 23 | Marieville Quebec | 11,910 | 55 | 88.5 | B |
| 24 | Morden Manitoba | 11,578 | 61.9 | 42.6 | B− |
| 25 | Banff Alberta | 11,402 | 63 | 74.8 | B− |
| 26 | Chester Nova Scotia | 11,740 | 63.1 | 76.8 | B− |
| 27 | St. Clements Manitoba | 12,029 | 64.4 | 49.4 | B− |
| 28 | St. Andrews Manitoba | 12,021 | 64.4 | 49.4 | B− |
| 29 | Moncton New Brunswick | 12,238 | 72.8 | 74.8 | C+ |
| … | |||||
| 40 | Williams Lake British Columbia | 11,462 | 248.9 | 248.6 | 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 Chester in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Around 640 violent incidents a year in the 42,400-resident police area around Chester, 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 1,120 property crimes and 630 other violations a year (2023–2025 average). The grid is 1,000 residents, a coloured dot for each incident a year at these rates.
From 2023 to 2025, Chester’s index held steady
Crime Severity Index
From 63.8 in 2023, its first and heaviest year, it eased to a low of 61.6 in 2024. The typical Canadian town its size went from 69.5 in 2023 to 60 in 2025.
Every year as a table
| Year | Chester | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 63.8 | 60 |
| 2024 | 61.6 | 67.9 |
| 2023 | 63.8 | 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 Chester, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Crime in the places around Chester
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chester | 11,740 | 63.1 | 76.8 | B− |
| Mahone Bay (18 km) | 1,200 | 63.1 | 76.8 | B− |
| Lunenburg (24 km) | 2,523 | 63.1 | 76.8 | B− |
| Lunenburg (28 km) | 26,862 | 63.1 | 76.8 | B− |
Same police, same number: 3 neighbours drop out of the comparison for that reason.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means. The nearest places to Chester with figures are 18–28 km away.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Cleared, not convicted. A crime is cleared when police lay or recommend a charge, or solve it another way; the weighted rate counts serious crimes for more.
- What the index measures. 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.”
- A detachment’s area. An RCMP or OPP detachment reports one set of figures for everywhere it polices, so Chester’s are shared with its surroundings.
- 100 is Canada in 2006. The index is scaled so that Canada as a whole scored 100 in its base year, 2006: a town at 50 has half that severity per resident.
Questions about safety in Chester
Is Chester safe?
Against a typical 66 for Canadian towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, Chester’s Crime Severity Index stands at 63.1 for 2023–2025. Its police record 15.1 violent incidents and 26.5 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year.
What is the most common crime in Chester?
Most often it is mischief: 9 per 1,000 residents a year. Next come other Criminal Code offences at 8 and theft under $5,000 at 7.1.
Is crime going up in Chester?
It held about level between 2023 and 2025, 63.8 to 63.8.
How much of Chester’s crime do police solve?
About 25% of crime is cleared, weighted by seriousness, with 44% of violent and 15% of other crime; the figure for the typical Canadian town its size is 33%.
Whose figures are these?
A police service or detachment that covers Chester 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).