Photo: Dennis G. Jarvis · CC BY-SA 2.0Crime in Portland Estates sits close to the middle of Canadian towns
Its violent half comes to 94.3 and its non-violent half to 62.8, where the norm is 75.2 and 54.2. The yearly rates were 13.8 violent incidents and 37.3 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents, set against 10.8 and 25.1 in the typical Canadian town of 50,000+. Overall, it grades C+ for safety (#17 of 88 in Nova Scotia). Police clear 31% of crime, weighted by seriousness; the figure for the typical Canadian town of 50,000+ is 38%.
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 behind the crime severity and crime rate figures: the Halifax Metropolitan Area service area.
What’s behind Portland Estates’s grade
How sure: Not as firm as most grades, since the figure covers the entire city rather than Portland Estates 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.
Halifax Metropolitan Area’s crime, type by type
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.
In Portland Estates, steady between 2023 and 2025
Crime Severity Index
At 73.5, 2024 topped the three years, and 2025 was lowest at 68.7. Over 2023–2025, the typical Canadian town of 50,000+ moved from 64.3 to 59.2.
Every year as a table
| Year | Portland Estates | 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 Portland Estates, each year, against the typical Canadian town of 50,000+.
Crime in the places around Portland Estates
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portland Estates | 10,164 | 71.4 | 94.3 | C+ |
| Manor Park | 14,148 | 71.4 | 94.3 | C+ |
| Cole Harbour | 21,627 | 71.4 | 94.3 | C+ |
| Woodlawn | 20,925 | 71.4 | 94.3 | C+ |
| Westphal | 4,201 | 71.4 | 94.3 | C+ |
| Schmidtville | 18,105 | 71.4 | 94.3 | C+ |
| Austinville | 28,021 | 71.4 | 94.3 | C+ |
The comparison skips 6 neighbours reported under the same police.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The whole city’s numbers. No open data breaks the city’s crime down by neighbourhood, so Portland Estates carries the city-wide figures.
- Reading the number. 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.
- Solved cases. Cleared means solved by police, charged or not; it says nothing about what courts decide.
- How serious, not how safe. Each incident counts by its seriousness, judged from court sentences, and the total is set per resident. As Statistics Canada puts it, “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.”
Questions about safety in Portland Estates
Is Portland Estates safe?
Portland Estates measures 71.4 on the Crime Severity Index for 2023–2025, next to 60.3 for Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more. Per 1,000 residents a year, its police record 13.8 violent incidents and 37.3 property crimes.
What is the most common crime in Portland Estates?
The three biggest groups are theft under $5,000 at 24, other Criminal Code offences at 8 and assault at 6.7, each per 1,000 residents a year.
Is crime going up in Portland Estates?
Hardly at all, from 71.9 in 2023 to 68.7 in 2025.
How much of Portland Estates’s crime do police solve?
About 31% of crime is cleared, weighted by seriousness, with 49% of violent and 20% of other crime; the figure for the typical Canadian town of 50,000+ is 38%.
Whose figures are these?
Those of the police service that covers 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).