Photo: Tim Green from Bradford, UK · CC BY 2.0More crimes per resident are recorded in Shelburne than in 70% of Canadian towns
Each year brought 18.8 violent incidents and 24.3 incidents of property crime for every 1,000 residents (12.9 and 31.2 in the typical town its size). On the record of crime the police covering Shelburne reported from 2023 to 2025, it takes C for safety: #68 of 88 in Nova Scotia. Of the two halves, violence comes to 118.8 and other offences to 69.7, beside norms of 85.7 and 62.8. From 2023 to 2025 its Crime Severity Index stayed steady, 83.3 then 80.3.
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. Area-wide: crime severity, crime rate and incident counts, counted over the Shelburne detachment area.
What stands out about safety in Shelburne
Mischief: high for a town its size
Shelburne records 9.4 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, Shelburne places 32nd from the lowest index. Towns its size ↓
Near the Nova Scotia middle
Shelburne’s index of 83.2 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.
What sits behind Shelburne’s 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.
What police record in Shelburne, by type
Against the typical town its size, Shelburne runs highest on drug offences (1.6 per 1,000 against 0.7), mischief (9.4 per 1,000 against 4.9) and break and enter (3.6 per 1,000 against 2.8). Motor vehicle theft and theft under $5,000 sit below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0 | 0 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 1.3 | 0.3 | — |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 0.7 | 0.1 | — |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 1.7 | 0.3 | — |
| Robbery | 1.7 | 0.3 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 1.3 | 0.3 | — |
| Other violent violations | 0.7 | 0.1 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 18.3 | 3.6 | 13% |
| Possession of stolen property | 2 | 0.4 | — |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 11 | 2.2 | 15% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 2 | 0.4 | — |
| Theft under $5,000 | 18 | 3.6 | 17% |
| Mischief | 47.3 | 9.4 | 8% |
| Weapons violations | 3 | 0.6 | — |
| Administration of justice violations | 27 | 5.4 | 52% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 7.3 | 1.5 | 27% |
| Drug violations | 8 | 1.6 | 16% |
| Impaired driving | 27.3 | 5.4 | 38% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 0.3 | 0.07 | — |
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, Shelburne places 32nd
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bowen Island British Columbia | 4,501 | 24.4 | 16.3 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 17 | Guysborough Nova Scotia | 4,721 | 52.9 | 57 | B+ |
| … | |||||
| 29 | Sparwood British Columbia | 4,486 | 79.7 | 121.6 | C |
| 30 | Electoral Area P (Rivers and the Peaks), Thompson-Nicola British Columbia | 4,540 | 80 | 77.4 | C |
| 31 | Shippagan New Brunswick | 4,721 | 80.3 | 100.6 | C |
| 32 | Shelburne Nova Scotia | 4,542 | 83.2 | 118.8 | C |
| 33 | Cumberland County, Subdivision D Nova Scotia | 4,692 | 93.1 | 86.7 | C− |
| 34 | Melville Saskatchewan | 4,547 | 104.2 | 145.1 | C− |
| 35 | Vanderhoof British Columbia | 4,545 | 126.5 | 178.5 | D |
| … | |||||
| 40 | Battleford Saskatchewan | 4,657 | 349.1 | 479.8 | 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 Shelburne in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Around 95 violent incidents a year in the 5,030-resident police area around Shelburne, 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 120 a year and other violations 96 (2023–2025 average). Of 1,000 dots, one per resident, the coloured ones are a year’s incidents at these rates.
Shelburne, year by year
Crime Severity Index
Its index peaked in 2024 at 86.1, between two lighter years; the lowest, 2025, came in at 80.3. For the typical Canadian town its size, 2023 gave 74.3 and 2025 gave 64.2.
Every year as a table
| Year | Shelburne | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 80.3 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 86.1 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 83.3 | 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 Shelburne, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Crime in the places around Shelburne
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shelburne | 4,542 | 83.2 | 118.8 | C |
| Shelburne (4 km) | 1,797 | 83.2 | 118.8 | C |
| Barrington (41 km) | 6,720 | 76.1 | 96.9 | C+ |
| Argyle (51 km) | 8,216 | 52.1 | 68.3 | B+ |
| Liverpool (54 km) | 10,997 | 78.4 | 112.5 | C+ |
| Yarmouth (67 km) | 10,637 | 52.1 | 68.3 | B+ |
Shelburne has the highest index of the places around it. Just 40.9 km away, Barrington comes to 76.1, against 83.2. Where a neighbour shares its police, it shares the figure too, and isn’t counted above.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means. Shelburne has few close neighbours with figures, so the list reaches 4–67 km out.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What 100 means. Canada’s own index has been below its 2006 base of 100 for years, so 100 marks a fixed reference, not today’s national average.
- The clearance rate. Weighted like the index, so solving one assault counts for more than solving a mischief; a charge laid, recommended or otherwise resolved all count.
- Severity, weighed. One robbery outweighs a run of minor thefts here, since every crime counts by the sentences courts give it. Statistics Canada adds: “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.”
- A wider policing area. An RCMP or OPP detachment reports one set of figures for everywhere it polices, so Shelburne’s are shared with its surroundings.
Questions about safety in Shelburne
Is Shelburne safe?
On Statistics Canada’s figures, Shelburne scores 83.2 on the Crime Severity Index for 2023–2025, with 18.8 violent and 24.3 property incidents per 1,000 residents a year. The typical figure for Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people is 68.5.
What is the most common crime in Shelburne?
Other Criminal Code offences is the most common, at 9.9 per 1,000 residents a year, then mischief (9.4) and assault (8.1).
Is crime going up in Shelburne?
Barely: 83.3 in 2023, 80.3 in 2025.
How much of Shelburne’s crime do police solve?
About 34% of crime is cleared, weighted by seriousness, with 59% of violent and 17% of other crime; the figure for the typical Canadian town its size is 34%.
Whose figures are these?
A shared service or detachment’s, reported as one for Shelburne 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).