Photo: Dennis G. Jarvis · CC BY-SA 2.0Guysborough has less crime per resident than two in three Canadian towns
Typical years here bring 14.0 violent incidents plus 23.7 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents, against 12.9 plus 31.2 in the typical town its size. The index fell from 57.5 in 2023 to 49.8 in 2025. The grade is B+, built on crime the police covering Guysborough reported from 2023 to 2025: #4 of 88 in Nova Scotia. Its violent half comes to 57 and its non-violent half to 51.7, where the norm is 85.7 and 62.8.
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. Shared with the rest of the Guysborough County detachment area: crime severity, crime rate and incident counts.
What stands out about safety in Guysborough
Lower than most of Nova Scotia
Set among Nova Scotia’s towns, whose median is 71.4, Guysborough scores 52.9. Towns its size ↓
Lower than many towns its size
Counting up from the lowest index, Guysborough is 14th of the 40 Canadian towns closest in population. Towns its size ↓
Below-typical clearance
For Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people the typical clearance rate is 34%; Guysborough’s police clear 21%, 38% of violent crime and 14% of the rest. Questions ↓
Mischief: high for a town its size
Guysborough records 11 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 ↓
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 Guysborough’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.
Its place: #4 of 88 in Nova Scotia and #639 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.
What police record in Guysborough, by type
Against the typical town its size, Guysborough runs highest on mischief (11 per 1,000 against 4.9). Theft under $5,000 sits below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0 | 0 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 2 | 0.3 | — |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 0 | 0 | — |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 0 | 0 | — |
| Robbery | 0 | 0 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 0 | 0 | — |
| Other violent violations | 2.7 | 0.4 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 18.7 | 2.7 | 9% |
| Possession of stolen property | 1 | 0.1 | — |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 6.3 | 0.9 | 21% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 3 | 0.4 | — |
| Theft under $5,000 | 19.3 | 2.8 | 5% |
| Mischief | 76.7 | 11 | 8% |
| Weapons violations | 1 | 0.1 | — |
| Administration of justice violations | 11.3 | 1.6 | 73% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 6.3 | 0.9 | 21% |
| Drug violations | 5 | 0.7 | 14% |
| Impaired driving | 25 | 3.6 | 35% |
| 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 to 10,000 people.
Guysborough, year by year
Crime Severity Index
The first year, 2023, was the heaviest at 57.5, and 2025 the lightest at 49.8. Over 2023–2025, the typical Canadian town its size moved from 74.3 to 64.2.
Every year as a table
| Year | Guysborough | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 49.8 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 51.4 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 57.5 | 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 Guysborough, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Among 40 towns its size, Guysborough places 14th
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grand Valley Ontario | 4,759 | 26.4 | 20.7 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 11 | Marmora Ontario | 4,761 | 46.8 | 68 | B+ |
| 12 | Saint-Antonin Quebec | 4,633 | 48.3 | 72.4 | B+ |
| 13 | Electoral Area H, Nanaimo British Columbia | 4,815 | 48.6 | 69.1 | B+ |
| 14 | Guysborough Nova Scotia | 4,721 | 52.9 | 57 | B+ |
| 15 | Saint-Jacques Quebec | 4,830 | 54 | 93.4 | B |
| 16 | Saint-Mathias-sur-Richelieu Quebec | 4,598 | 55 | 88.5 | B |
| 17 | Berthierville Quebec | 4,591 | 58 | 90.3 | B |
| … | |||||
| 30 | Shelburne Nova Scotia | 4,542 | 83.2 | 118.8 | C |
| 31 | Cumberland County, Subdivision D Nova Scotia | 4,692 | 93.1 | 86.7 | C− |
| … | |||||
| 40 | Battleford Saskatchewan | 4,657 | 349.1 | 479.8 | 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 Guysborough in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
6,930 residents, about 98 violent incidents a year: the police area Guysborough 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.
Property crime adds about 170 a year and other violations 79 (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 Guysborough
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guysborough | 4,721 | 52.9 | 57 | B+ |
| Port Hawkesbury (37 km) | 3,442 | 68.4 | 80 | B− |
| Richmond County, Subdivision C (40 km) | 3,444 | 65.2 | 90.1 | B− |
| St. Mary's (45 km) | 2,212 | 52.9 | 57 | B+ |
| Antigonish County, Subdivision B (46 km) | 6,486 | 66.6 | 81.7 | B− |
Every neighbour with a figure of its own has a higher index than Guysborough. A neighbour policed by the same service carries the same figure, so it isn’t set against it.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means. Distances here run 37–46 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Guysborough.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What the index measures. 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.
- A detachment’s area. The detachment counts crime across its whole territory, of which Guysborough is one part.
- 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. 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.
Questions about safety in Guysborough
Is Guysborough safe?
Guysborough’s Crime Severity Index is 52.9 (2023–2025 mean); its police record 14 violent incidents and 23.7 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year. Set that beside 68.5, the median for Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is the most common crime in Guysborough?
The three biggest groups are mischief at 11, assault at 5.9 and fraud at 5.4, each per 1,000 residents a year.
Is crime going up in Guysborough?
Over 2023–2025 the index dropped 13%, to 49.8 from 57.5.
How much of Guysborough’s crime do police solve?
Police cleared 21% of crime once each incident is weighted by seriousness: 38% of violent crime and 14% of the rest, against 34% for the typical Canadian town its size.
Whose figures are these?
Those of the police serving Guysborough 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).