Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Recorded crime in Inverness is close to typical for Canadian towns
Of the two halves, violence comes to 80 and other offences to 64.3, beside norms of 85.7 and 62.8. Inverness’s overall Safety Grade is B− (#13 of 88 in Nova Scotia): close to the middle of Canadian towns, on crime its police reported from 2023 to 2025. What’s more, the local count comes to 17.8 violent incidents and 30.5 incidents of property crime per 1,000 people each year, with 12.9 and 31.2 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. Crime severity, crime rate and incident counts: one figure for all of the Inverness County detachment area.
What stands out about safety in Inverness
Mischief: high for a town its size
Inverness 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 ↓
In the middle of towns its size
Of the 40 Canadian towns nearest it in size, Inverness places 21st from the lowest index. Towns its size ↓
About the Nova Scotia norm
Inverness’s index of 68.4 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.
Inverness: 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.
What police record in Inverness, by type
Against the typical town its size, Inverness 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.
From 2023 to 2025, Inverness’s index held steady
Crime Severity Index
2024 stands out as the heaviest year at 71, with 2023 the lightest at 66.3. For the typical Canadian town its size, 2023 gave 74.3 and 2025 gave 64.2.
Every year as a table
| Year | Inverness | 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, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
18,900 residents, about 340 violent incidents a year: the police area Inverness 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 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.
Inverness is 21st of 40 towns its size, lowest index first
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Norwood Ontario | 5,308 | 25.2 | 31.4 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 18 | Electoral Area C, North Okanagan British Columbia | 5,029 | 61.3 | 74.1 | B− |
| 19 | Electoral Area F, North Okanagan British Columbia | 4,969 | 62.6 | 70.8 | B− |
| 20 | Starlight Village New Brunswick | 5,108 | 63.2 | 81.9 | B− |
| 21 | Inverness Nova Scotia | 5,138 | 68.4 | 80 | B− |
| 22 | Saint-Cyrille-de-Wendover Quebec | 5,242 | 72.2 | 124.7 | C+ |
| 23 | Saint-Germain-de-Grantham Quebec | 5,054 | 72.2 | 124.7 | C+ |
| 24 | Coverdale New Brunswick | 5,167 | 72.8 | 74.8 | C+ |
| … | |||||
| 31 | Annapolis County, Subdivision B Nova Scotia | 5,086 | 96 | 107.6 | C− |
| … | |||||
| 36 | Antigonish Nova Scotia | 5,175 | 115.4 | 123.5 | C− |
| … | |||||
| 40 | Nipawin Saskatchewan | 5,033 | 182.3 | 163.9 | 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 in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Crime in the places around Inverness
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inverness | 5,138 | 68.4 | 80 | B− |
| Inverness County, Subdivision C (40 km) | 3,314 | 68.4 | 80 | B− |
| Inverness County, Subdivision A (49 km) | 5,389 | 68.4 | 80 | B− |
| Victoria County, Subdivision B (52 km) | 4,258 | 82.8 | 120.7 | C |
| Port Hawkesbury (58 km) | 3,442 | 68.4 | 80 | B− |
| Richmond County, Subdivision A (63 km) | 4,305 | 65.2 | 90.1 | B− |
Of 2 places nearby with their own figures, 1 come in under Inverness. Richmond County, Subdivision A, 63.2 km away, is the nearest lower one, at 65.2 to 68.4. 3 nearby places have no figure apart from this one: they share a police service.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means. No closer places have figures: these lie 40–63 km from Inverness.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- How serious, not how safe. 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.”
- Town and surroundings together. An RCMP or OPP detachment reports one set of figures for everywhere it polices, so Inverness’s are shared with its surroundings.
- Reading the number. A reading of 100 is the whole country in 2006. Half of that, 50, means half the severity per resident.
- Solved cases. Police clear an incident by charging someone, recommending a charge, or closing it another way. The rate weighs serious crimes more, as the index does.
Questions about safety in Inverness
Is Inverness safe?
The short answer is an index of 68.4 for Inverness (2023–2025), built from 17.8 violent incidents and 30.5 property crimes a year for every 1,000 residents. Set that beside 68.5, the median for Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is the most common crime in Inverness?
Top of the list is mischief (13.1 per 1,000 residents a year); other Criminal Code offences, at 13.1, and assault, at 7.5, follow.
Is crime going up in Inverness?
Barely: 66.3 in 2023, 67.9 in 2025.
How much of Inverness’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 shared service or detachment’s, reported as one for Inverness and everywhere else it polices.
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).