Photo: WabbitWanderer from London, Canada · CC BY-SA 2.0Recorded crime in Inverness County, Subdivision A is close to typical for Canadian towns
Each year brought 17.8 violent incidents and 30.5 incidents of property crime for every 1,000 residents (12.9 and 31.2 in the typical town its size). Violence accounts for an index of 80 and other offences for 64.3, against usual levels of 85.7 and 62.8. Its Safety Grade, B− (#13 of 88 in Nova Scotia), rests on crime its police reported from 2023 to 2025: close to the middle of Canadian towns.
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. Crime severity, crime rate and incident counts: the Inverness County detachment area.
What stands out about safety in Inverness County, Subdivision A
Mischief: high for a town its size
Inverness County, Subdivision A records 13.1 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
Counting up from the lowest index, Inverness County, Subdivision A is 28th of the 40 Canadian towns closest in population. Towns its size ↓
Much like Nova Scotia’s towns
Set among Nova Scotia’s towns, whose median is 71.4, Inverness County, Subdivision A scores 68.4. 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.
Inverness County, Subdivision A: B− for safety, and why
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: #13 of 88 in Nova Scotia and #1,340 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.
Crime in Inverness County, Subdivision A, type by type
Against the typical town its size, Inverness County, Subdivision A runs highest on mischief (13.1 per 1,000 against 4.9) and drug offences (1.2 per 1,000 against 0.7). 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 | 0 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 5.3 | 0.3 | 43% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 3.7 | 0.2 | — |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 4.3 | 0.2 | — |
| Robbery | 1.3 | 0.07 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 0.7 | 0.04 | — |
| Other violent violations | 6.7 | 0.4 | 30% |
| Breaking and entering | 40.3 | 2.1 | 22% |
| Possession of stolen property | 3.7 | 0.2 | — |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 22 | 1.2 | 23% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 8 | 0.4 | 9% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 142 | 7.5 | 19% |
| Mischief | 248 | 13.1 | 15% |
| Weapons violations | 5.7 | 0.3 | 70% |
| Administration of justice violations | 110 | 5.8 | 55% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 21.3 | 1.1 | 36% |
| Drug violations | 22 | 1.2 | 21% |
| Impaired driving | 105.3 | 5.6 | 32% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 1.7 | 0.09 | — |
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.
By its index, Inverness County, Subdivision A stands 28th of 40 towns its size
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Norwood Ontario | 5,308 | 25.2 | 31.4 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 25 | Grand Falls / Grand-Sault New Brunswick | 5,465 | 65.6 | 72.4 | B− |
| 26 | Stonewall Manitoba | 5,443 | 66.3 | 59.7 | B− |
| 27 | Headingley Manitoba | 5,368 | 67 | 72.1 | B− |
| 28 | Inverness County, Subdivision A Nova Scotia | 5,389 | 68.4 | 80 | B− |
| 29 | Saint-Cyrille-de-Wendover Quebec | 5,242 | 72.2 | 124.7 | C+ |
| 30 | Wolfville Nova Scotia | 5,587 | 72.3 | 91.5 | C+ |
| 31 | Central Frontenac Ontario | 5,348 | 78.4 | 112.5 | C+ |
| … | |||||
| 38 | Antigonish Nova Scotia | 5,175 | 115.4 | 123.5 | C− |
| … | |||||
| 40 | Oliver British Columbia | 5,262 | 132.5 | 95.2 | 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 Inverness County, Subdivision A in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Year by year in Inverness County, Subdivision A: steady, 2023 to 2025
Crime Severity Index
It rose to 71 in 2024 before easing, with the low of 66.3 in 2023. Over 2023–2025, the typical Canadian town its size moved from 74.3 to 64.2.
Every year as a table
| Year | Inverness County, Subdivision A | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 67.9 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 71 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 66.3 | 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 Inverness County, Subdivision A, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
About 340 violent incidents a year across the police area of 18,900 residents that includes Inverness County, Subdivision A, 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 580 a year and other violations 400 (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 Inverness County, Subdivision A
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inverness County, Subdivision A | 5,389 | 68.4 | 80 | B− |
| Inverness (49 km) | 5,138 | 68.4 | 80 | B− |
| Victoria County, Subdivision B (51 km) | 4,258 | 82.8 | 120.7 | C |
| Victoria County, Subdivision A (54 km) | 2,746 | 82.8 | 120.7 | C |
| Cape Breton (79 km) | 106,752 | 44 | 56.2 | A− |
1 of the 3 neighbours with their own figures score lower than Inverness County, Subdivision A. Closest is Cape Breton, 78.7 km away, at 44 to 68.4 here. Sharing its police with one neighbour, it shares that neighbour’s figure as well, so the neighbour isn’t compared.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means. Distances here run 49–79 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Inverness County, Subdivision A.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What clearance means. Cleared means solved by police, charged or not; it says nothing about what courts decide.
- An index, not a verdict. 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.”
- Shared with the countryside. An RCMP or OPP detachment reports one set of figures for everywhere it polices, so Inverness County, Subdivision A’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.
Questions about safety in Inverness County, Subdivision A
Is Inverness County, Subdivision A safe?
Against a typical 68.5 for Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, Inverness County, Subdivision A’s Crime Severity Index stands at 68.4 for 2023–2025. Its police record 17.8 violent incidents and 30.5 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year.
What is the most common crime in Inverness County, Subdivision A?
Police record mischief most, 13.1 per 1,000 residents a year, ahead of other Criminal Code offences (13.1) and assault (7.5).
Is crime going up in Inverness County, Subdivision A?
Barely: 66.3 in 2023, 67.9 in 2025.
How much of Inverness County, Subdivision A’s crime do police solve?
Police solve 47% of violent crime and 21% of everything else, 30% 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 Inverness County, Subdivision A 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).