Photo: Robert Alfers · Public domainPer resident, Bedford records about as much crime as the typical place among Canadian towns
Steady over the three years, the index read 71.9 in 2023 and 68.7 in 2025. Across all the graded crimes, Bedford lands on C+ (#17 of 88 in Nova Scotia): close to the middle of Canadian towns, on crime its police reported from 2023 to 2025. Year on year, 13.8 violent incidents and 37.3 incidents of property crime occur per 1,000 residents, compared with 10.8 and 25.1 in the typical Canadian town of 50,000+. Of the two halves, violence comes to 94.3 and other offences to 62.8, beside norms of 75.2 and 54.2.
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. Source area for crime severity and crime rate: the Halifax Metropolitan Area service area.
Inside Bedford’s C+ for safety
How sure: Not as firm as most grades, since the figure covers the entire city rather than Bedford alone.
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: #17 of 88 in Nova Scotia and #1,398 of 2,572 Canadian towns.
The Crime Severity Index and its two halves, beside the typical figure for Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more.
Which crimes make up Halifax Metropolitan Area’s figures
These are Halifax Metropolitan Area’s figures, for its police’s whole area: they aren’t published by neighbourhood.
Against the typical town its size, Halifax Metropolitan Area runs highest on theft under $5,000 (24 per 1,000 against 11.5), robbery (0.6 per 1,000 against 0.4) and assault (6.7 per 1,000 against 4.9). Drug offences and motor vehicle theft sit below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 9.7 | 0.02 | 65% |
| Sexual violations against children | 124.7 | 0.2 | 34% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 232.7 | 0.5 | 94% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 44.7 | 0.09 | 51% |
| Robbery | 289.7 | 0.6 | 48% |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 59 | 0.1 | 92% |
| Other violent violations | 151.3 | 0.3 | 48% |
| Breaking and entering | 920.7 | 1.8 | 20% |
| Possession of stolen property | 123 | 0.2 | 70% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 462.3 | 0.9 | 14% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 200.3 | 0.4 | 17% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 12,134 | 24 | 12% |
| Mischief | 2,574 | 5.1 | 12% |
| Weapons violations | 299.3 | 0.6 | 44% |
| Administration of justice violations | 2,638.3 | 5.2 | 81% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 437.3 | 0.9 | 43% |
| Drug violations | 335.7 | 0.7 | 37% |
| Impaired driving | 773.7 | 1.5 | 88% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 36 | 0.07 | 24% |
Statistics Canada’s violation groups for the whole police service or detachment: incidents a year are its own, the town’s share is only estimated in the tiles. 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 50,000 people or more.
Bedford, year by year
Crime Severity Index
2024 was the peak (73.5) and 2025 the trough (68.7). The typical Canadian town of 50,000+ went from 64.3 in 2023 to 59.2 in 2025.
Every year as a table
| Year | Bedford | Typical town of 50,000+ |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 68.7 | 59.2 |
| 2024 | 73.5 | 59.9 |
| 2023 | 71.9 | 64.3 |
Statistics Canada, Crime Severity Index by police service, each year as published. Typical: the median of Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more.
The Crime Severity Index of the police covering Bedford, each year, against the typical Canadian town of 50,000+.
Crime in the places around Bedford
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bedford | 28,848 | 71.4 | 94.3 | C+ |
| Clayton Park West | 34,404 | 71.4 | 94.3 | C+ |
| Lower Sackville | 20,171 | 71.4 | 94.3 | C+ |
| Fairview | 16,296 | 71.4 | 94.3 | C+ |
| Mount Royale | 9,340 | 71.4 | 94.3 | C+ |
| Timberlea | 11,014 | 71.4 | 94.3 | C+ |
| Middle Sackville | 14,898 | 71.4 | 94.3 | C+ |
6 nearby places have no figure apart from this one: they share a police service.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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.
- What the index measures. Statistics Canada builds the index from every crime police record, weighted by how seriously the courts treat it, and divides by the population. It adds a warning of its own: “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.”
- City-wide figures. Its city publishes no open neighbourhood crime figures, so every figure for Bedford is the city police’s, for the whole city.
Questions about safety in Bedford
Is Bedford safe?
The short answer is an index of 71.4 for Bedford (2023–2025), built from 13.8 violent incidents and 37.3 property crimes a year for every 1,000 residents. For Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more, the typical index is 60.3.
What is the most common crime in Bedford?
Police record theft under $5,000 most, 24 per 1,000 residents a year, ahead of other Criminal Code offences (8) and assault (6.7).
Is crime going up in Bedford?
The index stayed close to where it was, 71.9 in 2023 and 68.7 in 2025.
How much of Bedford’s crime do police solve?
The weighted clearance rate is 31%: 49% for violent crime and 20% for non-violent. For the typical Canadian town of 50,000+ it is 38%.
Whose figures are these?
The city police’s, as reported for the whole city.
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).