Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainMore crimes per resident are recorded in Pictou County, Subdivision C than in 70% of Canadian towns
None of the 4 towns next door with figures records less crime per resident. Police counts work out at 16.5 violent incidents and 29.8 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents annually; in the typical town its size they are 12.9 and 31.2. Add to that, a Safety Grade of C follows from crime the police covering Pictou County, Subdivision C reported over the years 2023 to 2025: #68 of 88 in Nova Scotia. Its violent half comes to 99.7 and its non-violent half to 78.3, where the norm is 85.7 and 62.8.
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. Data for crime severity, crime rate and incident counts covers the Pictou County detachment area.
What stands out about safety in Pictou County, Subdivision C
Mischief: high for a town its size
Pictou County, Subdivision C 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 ↓
Higher than many towns its size
Of the 40 Canadian towns nearest it in size, Pictou County, Subdivision C places 28th from the lowest index. Towns its size ↓
About the Nova Scotia norm
Pictou County, Subdivision C’s index of 83.9 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.
The grade: C for Pictou County, Subdivision C
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.
Pictou County, Subdivision C’s crime by kind
Against the typical town its size, Pictou County, Subdivision C runs highest on mischief (8.7 per 1,000 against 4.9) and break and enter (4.2 per 1,000 against 2.8). Sexual assault and theft under $5,000 sit 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.
Pictou County, Subdivision C comes 28th of the 40 towns nearest in size
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Douro-Dummer Ontario | 8,379 | 14.9 | 13.8 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 25 | Kings County, Subdivision C Nova Scotia | 8,994 | 72.3 | 91.5 | C+ |
| 26 | Brownsburg-Chatham Quebec | 8,466 | 76.4 | 122.2 | C+ |
| 27 | Portugal Cove-St. Philip's Newfoundland and Labrador | 9,167 | 81 | 104.2 | C |
| 28 | Pictou County, Subdivision C Nova Scotia | 8,847 | 83.9 | 99.7 | C |
| 29 | Innisfail Alberta | 8,736 | 83.9 | 76 | C |
| 30 | Renfrew Ontario | 8,721 | 91.6 | 165.9 | C |
| 31 | Hanover Ontario | 8,723 | 91.9 | 108.3 | C |
| … | |||||
| 40 | Iqaluit Nunavut | 8,612 | 661.3 | 844 | 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 C in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
The police area Pictou County, Subdivision C is part of, 22,300 residents, recorded about 370 violent incidents a year (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.
And about 660 property crimes, plus 370 other violations, a year (2023–2025 average). Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot, one incident a year at the area’s rates.
Pictou County, Subdivision C’s index held steady from 2023 to 2025
Crime Severity Index
From 86.6 in 2023, its first and heaviest year, it eased to a low of 82.3 in 2024. The comparison line, the typical Canadian town its size, runs from 74.3 in 2023 to 64.2 by 2025.
Every year as a table
| Year | Pictou County, Subdivision C | 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 C, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Crime in the places around Pictou County, Subdivision C
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pictou County, Subdivision C | 8,847 | 83.9 | 99.7 | C |
| Trenton | 2,499 | 83.9 | 99.7 | C |
| New Glasgow | 10,378 | 128.5 | 146.4 | D |
| Stellarton | 4,251 | 116.6 | 97.1 | C− |
| Westville | 3,731 | 84.1 | 65 | C |
| Pictou County, Subdivision B | 6,482 | 83.9 | 99.7 | C |
| Pictou | 3,307 | 126.6 | 152.7 | D |
Every neighbour with a figure of its own has a higher index than Pictou County, Subdivision C. Where neighbours share its police, they share the figure too: 2 aren’t counted above.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Cleared, not convicted. A cleared case is one police consider solved. Whether anyone is convicted is a separate matter the rate doesn’t follow.
- 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.”
- A detachment’s area. The detachment counts crime across its whole territory, of which Pictou County, Subdivision C is one part.
- 100 is Canada in 2006. Statistics Canada set the national index at 100 for 2006; every figure here is read against that.
Questions about safety in Pictou County, Subdivision C
Is Pictou County, Subdivision C safe?
With 16.5 violent incidents and 29.8 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, Pictou County, Subdivision C comes to 83.9 on the Crime Severity Index (2023–2025); Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people have a median of 68.5.
What is the most common crime in Pictou County, Subdivision C?
Top of the list is other Criminal Code offences (8.8 per 1,000 residents a year); mischief, at 8.7, and assault, at 7.2, follow.
Is crime going up in Pictou County, Subdivision C?
Barely: 86.6 in 2023, 82.8 in 2025.
How much of Pictou County, Subdivision C’s crime do police solve?
26%, by the weighted clearance rate, where the typical Canadian town its size manages 34%. Violent crime is cleared at 45% and non-violent crime at 17%.
Whose figures are these?
Those of the police serving Pictou County, Subdivision C together with its neighbours or the countryside around it.
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).