Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainRecorded crime per resident is higher in Pictou County, Subdivision B than in 70% of Canadian towns
Each of the 4 towns on its borders with figures records more crime per resident. Violence accounts for an index of 99.7 and other offences for 78.3, against usual levels of 85.7 and 62.8. On the record of crime the police covering Pictou County, Subdivision B reported from 2023 to 2025, it takes C for safety: #68 of 88 in Nova Scotia. Add to that, the yearly rates were 16.5 violent incidents and 29.8 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents, set against 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. Source area for crime severity, crime rate and incident counts: the Pictou County detachment area.
What stands out about safety in Pictou County, Subdivision B
Higher than many towns its size
Counting up from the lowest index, Pictou County, Subdivision B is 31st of the 40 Canadian towns closest in population. Towns its size ↓
Mischief: high for a town its size
Pictou County, Subdivision B records 8.7 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 ↓
Much like Nova Scotia’s towns
Set among Nova Scotia’s towns, whose median is 71.4, Pictou County, Subdivision B scores 83.9. 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.
The grade: C for Pictou County, Subdivision B
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: #68 of 88 in Nova Scotia and #1,764 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.
Which crimes make up Pictou County, Subdivision B’s figures
Against the typical town its size, Pictou County, Subdivision B runs highest on mischief (8.7 per 1,000 against 4.9) and break and enter (4.2 per 1,000 against 2.8). Theft under $5,000 sits below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 1 | 0.05 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 7.3 | 0.3 | 51% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 14 | 0.6 | 84% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 2 | 0.09 | — |
| Robbery | 2.3 | 0.1 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 1 | 0.05 | — |
| Other violent violations | 8.3 | 0.4 | 24% |
| Breaking and entering | 93.7 | 4.2 | 13% |
| Possession of stolen property | 22.7 | 1 | 32% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 52.3 | 2.4 | 12% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 19.3 | 0.9 | 7% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 155 | 7 | 7% |
| Mischief | 194 | 8.7 | 12% |
| Weapons violations | 11 | 0.5 | 66% |
| Administration of justice violations | 97.3 | 4.4 | 54% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 25.3 | 1.1 | 28% |
| Drug violations | 17.3 | 0.8 | 40% |
| Impaired driving | 82.7 | 3.7 | 40% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 0.7 | 0.03 | — |
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.
Among 40 towns its size, Pictou County, Subdivision B places 31st
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beresford New Brunswick | 6,543 | 25 | 35.4 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 21 | Antigonish County, Subdivision B Nova Scotia | 6,486 | 66.6 | 81.7 | B− |
| … | |||||
| 24 | Kings County, Subdivision D Nova Scotia | 6,517 | 72.3 | 91.5 | C+ |
| … | |||||
| 27 | Barrington Nova Scotia | 6,720 | 76.1 | 96.9 | C+ |
| 28 | Electoral Area C, Peace River British Columbia | 6,344 | 81.8 | 82.5 | C |
| 29 | Barrhead County No. 11 Alberta | 6,186 | 81.9 | 73.6 | C |
| 30 | Pictou County, Subdivision A Nova Scotia | 6,575 | 83.9 | 99.7 | C |
| 31 | Pictou County, Subdivision B Nova Scotia | 6,482 | 83.9 | 99.7 | C |
| 32 | Sackville New Brunswick | 6,572 | 86.9 | 110.4 | C |
| 33 | Willow Creek No. 26 Alberta | 6,225 | 91.1 | 68.1 | C |
| 34 | Beaver County Alberta | 6,245 | 95.7 | 81.2 | C− |
| 35 | Annapolis County, Subdivision A Nova Scotia | 6,719 | 96 | 107.6 | C− |
| … | |||||
| 40 | St. Paul Alberta | 6,218 | 364.7 | 364.4 | 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 Pictou County, Subdivision B in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
22,300 residents, about 370 violent incidents a year: the police area Pictou County, Subdivision B 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 660 a year and other violations 370 (2023–2025 average). Of 1,000 dots, one per resident, the coloured ones are a year’s incidents at these rates.
In Pictou County, Subdivision B, steady between 2023 and 2025
Crime Severity Index
Nothing since 2023 has matched that year’s 86.6; the lightest was 2024, at 82.3. Set beside it, the typical Canadian town its size went from 74.3 in 2023 to 64.2 in 2025.
Every year as a table
| Year | Pictou County, Subdivision B | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 82.8 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 82.3 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 86.6 | 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 Pictou County, Subdivision B, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Crime in the places around Pictou County, Subdivision B
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pictou County, Subdivision B | 6,482 | 83.9 | 99.7 | C |
| Westville | 3,731 | 84.1 | 65 | C |
| Stellarton | 4,251 | 116.6 | 97.1 | C− |
| New Glasgow | 10,378 | 128.5 | 146.4 | D |
| Trenton | 2,499 | 83.9 | 99.7 | C |
| Pictou County, Subdivision C | 8,847 | 83.9 | 99.7 | C |
| Pictou | 3,307 | 126.6 | 152.7 | D |
Each neighbour with its own figure comes in over Pictou County, Subdivision B. 2 places nearby are policed together with it and reported as one, so there is nothing to compare.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Severity, weighed. 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.”
- A wider policing area. Detachment figures cover the detachment’s whole area: Pictou County, Subdivision B together with the countryside and smaller places it polices.
- What 100 means. Its scale starts from Canada in 2006, set at 100, so a figure above 100 means more serious crime per resident than the country had then.
- The clearance rate. 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 Pictou County, Subdivision B
Is Pictou County, Subdivision B safe?
Police-reported crime in Pictou County, Subdivision B scores 83.9 on Statistics Canada’s Crime Severity Index (2023–2025 mean), with 16.5 violent incidents and 29.8 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year. In the middle of Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people the figure is 68.5.
What is the most common crime in Pictou County, Subdivision B?
The three biggest groups are other Criminal Code offences at 8.8, mischief at 8.7 and assault at 7.2, each per 1,000 residents a year.
Is crime going up in Pictou County, Subdivision B?
The index stayed close to where it was, 86.6 in 2023 and 82.8 in 2025.
How much of Pictou County, Subdivision B’s crime do police solve?
Counting serious crimes for more, 26% end in a charge or are otherwise solved (34% for the typical Canadian town its size); split up, that is 45% of violent and 17% of non-violent crime.
Whose figures are these?
A shared service or detachment’s, reported as one for Pictou County, Subdivision B 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).