Photo: Ymblanter · CC BY-SA 4.0Crime per resident in Hay River runs higher than in almost every Canadian town
Against usual levels of 85.7 and 62.8, violent and non-violent offences here reach 507.9 and 551.5. A Safety Grade of D− follows from crime the police covering Hay River reported over the years 2023 to 2025: #2,561 of 2,572 Canadian towns. Annual rates stand at 103.2 violent incidents and 239.5 incidents of property crime for every thousand residents, next to 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 Hay River detachment area.
What stands out about safety in Hay River
Drug offences: high for a town its size
Hay River records 30.4 incidents of drug offences per 1,000 residents a year, against 0.7 in the typical town among Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people. By type ↓
A higher index than most towns its size
Of the 40 Canadian towns nearest it in size, Hay River places 38th from the lowest index. Towns its size ↓
Non-violent crime leads the index
Set beside the typical Canadian town its size, Hay River’s two halves part ways: 507.9 for violence (typical 85.7) and 551.5 for the rest (typical 62.8). By type ↓
A low clearance rate
Police cleared 25% of Hay River’s crime, weighted by seriousness (39% of violent crime, 19% of the rest), against 34% across Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people. Questions ↓
Written from Statistics Canada’s police-reported crime by police service and detachment, 2023–2025. Figures are what police recorded, not convictions.
The grade: D− for Hay River
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: #2,561 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.
Hay River’s crime by kind
Against the typical town its size, Hay River runs highest on drug offences (30.4 per 1,000 against 0.7), mischief (158.3 per 1,000 against 4.9) and assault (63.8 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 | 3.7 | 1 | — |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 5.7 | 1.5 | 100% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 4 | 1.1 | — |
| Robbery | 3.3 | 0.9 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 2.7 | 0.7 | — |
| Other violent violations | 2.3 | 0.6 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 74.3 | 20.3 | 17% |
| Possession of stolen property | 7 | 1.9 | 53% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 24 | 6.6 | 15% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 4 | 1.1 | — |
| Theft under $5,000 | 148 | 40.4 | 17% |
| Mischief | 580.3 | 158.3 | 22% |
| Weapons violations | 10.3 | 2.8 | 55% |
| Administration of justice violations | 137.7 | 37.6 | 72% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 29.7 | 8.1 | 25% |
| Drug violations | 111.3 | 30.4 | 7% |
| Impaired driving | 112 | 30.5 | 29% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 0.7 | 0.2 | — |
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.
Hay River is 38th of 40 towns its size, lowest index first
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saint-Gabriel-de-Valcartier Quebec | 3,400 | 28.2 | 46.7 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 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− |
| 38 | Hay River Northwest Territories | 3,317 | 535.8 | 507.9 | D− |
| 39 | Rankin Inlet Nunavut | 3,336 | 538.5 | 858.4 | 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 Hay River in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
The police area Hay River is part of, 3,660 residents, recorded about 380 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.
Property crime adds about 880 a year and other violations 650 (2023–2025 average). Of 1,000 dots, one per resident, the coloured ones are a year’s incidents at these rates.
Hay River’s index year by year
Crime Severity Index
Of the years charted, 2025 weighed most (700) and 2023 least (408). 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 | Hay River | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 700 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 499.4 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 408 | 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 Hay River, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What clearance means. Cleared means solved by police, charged or not; it says nothing about what courts decide.
- An index, not a verdict. Each incident counts by its seriousness, judged from court sentences, and the total is set per resident. As Statistics Canada puts it, “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.”
- Read with care. About 3,655 people live in the area these figures cover; at that size one bad year shows up large. Statistics Canada says: “Data for police services or detachments with populations less than 5,000 should be used with caution.”
- Shared with the countryside. An RCMP or OPP detachment reports one set of figures for everywhere it polices, so Hay River’s are shared with its surroundings.
- The index’s scale. Figures are relative to one fixed point, Canada in 2006 at 100, rather than to this year’s national number.
Questions about safety in Hay River
Is Hay River safe?
Hay River measures 535.8 on the Crime Severity Index for 2023–2025, next to 68.5 for Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people. Per 1,000 residents a year, its police record 103.2 violent incidents and 239.5 property crimes.
What is the most common crime in Hay River?
Mischief is the most common, at 158.3 per 1,000 residents a year, then other Criminal Code offences (104.9) and assault (63.8).
Is crime going up in Hay River?
Up 72%: 408 in 2023, 700 in 2025. With few people or missing years behind it, the change is a rough one.
How much of Hay River’s crime do police solve?
The weighted clearance rate is 25%: 39% for violent crime and 19% for non-violent. For the typical Canadian town its size it is 34%.
Whose figures are these?
Those of the police serving Hay River 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).