Photo: William M. Monroe · Public domainMore crimes per resident are recorded in Pictou than in 87% of Canadian towns
Of the 6 towns on its borders with figures, 5 record less crime per resident. Violence accounts for an index of 152.7 and other offences for 117.3, against usual levels of 85.7 and 62.8. Measured on crime the police covering Pictou reported between 2023 and 2025, it earns a Safety Grade of D: #84 of 88 in Nova Scotia. Behind the grade sit 32.2 violent incidents and 54.4 incidents of property crime per 1,000 people a year, where the comparison is 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.
What stands out about safety in Pictou
Mischief: high for a town its size
Pictou records 23.3 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 ↓
Heavier than Nova Scotia’s middle
Within Nova Scotia, the median town comes to 71.4 on the index, against 126.6 in Pictou. Towns its size ↓
A higher index than most towns its size
Line up the 40 Canadian towns nearest in size by their index and Pictou stands 34th, the lowest first. 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.
What sits behind Pictou’s D
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: #84 of 88 in Nova Scotia and #2,296 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 Pictou, type by type
Against the typical town its size, Pictou runs highest on mischief (23.3 per 1,000 against 4.9), drug offences (2.6 per 1,000 against 0.7) and assault (13.8 per 1,000 against 6.7).
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0 | 0 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 2.7 | 0.8 | — |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 2.7 | 0.8 | — |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 0.3 | 0.1 | — |
| Robbery | 0.3 | 0.1 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 0.7 | 0.2 | — |
| Other violent violations | 4 | 1.2 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 16.7 | 5 | 20% |
| Possession of stolen property | 1.7 | 0.5 | — |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 8.3 | 2.5 | 20% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 2.7 | 0.8 | — |
| Theft under $5,000 | 50 | 15.2 | 13% |
| Mischief | 77 | 23.3 | 16% |
| Weapons violations | 1.7 | 0.5 | — |
| Administration of justice violations | 38 | 11.5 | 61% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 9.7 | 2.9 | 38% |
| Drug violations | 8.7 | 2.6 | 43% |
| Impaired driving | 10.3 | 3.1 | 32% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 0 | 0 | — |
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, Pictou stands 34th of 40 towns its size
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saint-Gabriel-de-Valcartier Quebec | 3,400 | 28.2 | 46.7 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 17 | Inverness County, Subdivision C Nova Scotia | 3,314 | 68.4 | 80 | B− |
| … | |||||
| 28 | Cumberland County, Subdivision A Nova Scotia | 3,401 | 93.1 | 86.7 | C− |
| 29 | Annapolis County, Subdivision D Nova Scotia | 3,273 | 96 | 107.6 | C− |
| … | |||||
| 31 | Central Okanagan West British Columbia | 3,298 | 106.7 | 102.5 | C− |
| 32 | Havre-Saint-Pierre Quebec | 3,389 | 110.6 | 223.3 | C− |
| 33 | Sainte-Clotilde Quebec | 3,297 | 116.5 | 80.3 | C− |
| 34 | Pictou Nova Scotia | 3,307 | 126.6 | 152.7 | D |
| 35 | Gibbons Alberta | 3,352 | 167.1 | 160 | D |
| 36 | Arviat Nunavut | 3,330 | 200.8 | 319 | D |
| 37 | Division No. 19, Unorganized Manitoba | 3,324 | 419.5 | 614.9 | D− |
| … | |||||
| 40 | Inuvik Northwest Territories | 3,337 | 718.3 | 807.9 | 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 Pictou in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Around 110 violent incidents a year on Pictou’s police records (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 180 a year and other violations 110 (2023–2025 average). Of 1,000 dots, one per resident, the coloured ones are a year’s incidents at these rates.
Pictou’s index year by year
Crime Severity Index
Its most recent year, 2025, was also its heaviest (147.6); the lightest was 2024 (114.9). The typical Canadian town its size went from 74.3 in 2023 to 64.2 in 2025.
Every year as a table
| Year | Pictou | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 147.6 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 114.9 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 117.4 | 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, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Crime in the places around Pictou
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pictou | 3,307 | 126.6 | 152.7 | D |
| Trenton | 2,499 | 83.9 | 99.7 | C |
| New Glasgow | 10,378 | 128.5 | 146.4 | D |
| Pictou County, Subdivision A | 6,575 | 83.9 | 99.7 | C |
| Westville | 3,731 | 84.1 | 65 | C |
| Stellarton | 4,251 | 116.6 | 97.1 | C− |
| Pictou County, Subdivision C | 8,847 | 83.9 | 99.7 | C |
5 of the 6 neighbours with their own figures score lower than Pictou. The nearest of them, Trenton (9.3 km away), scores 83.9 against 126.6.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Read with care. With roughly 3,307 residents in its police area, a few cases swing the figures. In Statistics Canada’s words, “Data for police services or detachments with populations less than 5,000 should be used with caution.”
- 100 is Canada in 2006. Figures are relative to one fixed point, Canada in 2006 at 100, rather than to this year’s national number.
- 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. The Crime Severity Index adds up police-reported crime, each kind weighted by the sentences courts give it, so one robbery counts for more than many thefts. In Statistics Canada’s words, “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.”
Questions about safety in Pictou
Is Pictou safe?
A Crime Severity Index of 126.6 (2023–2025), set beside a median of 68.5 for Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people: that is where Pictou stands, with 32.2 violent and 54.4 property incidents per 1,000 residents a year.
What is the most common crime in Pictou?
Mischief is the most common, at 23.3 per 1,000 residents a year, then other Criminal Code offences (22) and theft under $5,000 (15.2).
Is crime going up in Pictou?
It went up 26% between 2023 and 2025, from 117.4 to 147.6. With few people or missing years behind it, the change is a rough one.
How much of Pictou’s crime do police solve?
Weighted by seriousness, police cleared 30% of crime (45% of violent crime, 23% of the rest). The typical Canadian town its size clears 34%.
Whose figures are these?
Its own police: the service or contract that covers Pictou and nowhere else.
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).