Photo: Ansgar Walk · CC BY-SA 2.5More crimes per resident are recorded in Arviat than in 94% of Canadian towns
From 2023 to 2025, crime the police covering Arviat reported put it at D for safety: #2,507 of 2,572 Canadian towns. What’s more, in a usual year, 66.0 violent incidents and 131.9 incidents of property crime are logged per 1,000 inhabitants; in the typical town its size, 12.9 and 31.2. Split in two, the index gives 319 for violence and 155.3 for everything else (normally 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. Area behind the crime severity, crime rate and incident counts figures: the Arviat detachment area.
What stands out about safety in Arviat
Mischief: high for a town its size
Arviat records 117.1 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 ↓
A higher index than most towns its size
Counting up from the lowest index, Arviat is 36th of the 40 Canadian towns closest in population. Towns its size ↓
Police clear more here
Police cleared 50% of Arviat’s crime, weighted by seriousness (70% of violent crime, 34% of the rest), against 34% across Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people. Questions ↓
Heavier on violence
Set beside the typical Canadian town its size, Arviat’s two halves part ways: 319 for violence (typical 85.7) and 155.3 for the rest (typical 62.8). By type ↓
Written from Statistics Canada’s police-reported crime by police service and detachment, 2023–2025. Figures are what police recorded, not convictions.
What’s behind Arviat’s grade
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: #2,507 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.
Arviat’s crime by kind
Against the typical town its size, Arviat runs highest on mischief (117.1 per 1,000 against 4.9), assault (39.6 per 1,000 against 6.7) and sexual assault (2.9 per 1,000 against 0.9). Theft under $5,000 and fraud sit below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0.3 | 0.1 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 10.7 | 3.3 | 63% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 2.7 | 0.8 | — |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 1 | 0.3 | — |
| Robbery | 0 | 0 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 1.7 | 0.5 | — |
| Other violent violations | 2 | 0.6 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 17 | 5.2 | 19% |
| Possession of stolen property | 0.3 | 0.1 | — |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 3.7 | 1.1 | — |
| Theft over $5,000 | 1 | 0.3 | — |
| Theft under $5,000 | 18.3 | 5.6 | 38% |
| Mischief | 382 | 117.1 | 34% |
| Weapons violations | 4 | 1.2 | — |
| Administration of justice violations | 29.7 | 9.1 | 61% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 10 | 3.1 | 60% |
| Drug violations | 2 | 0.6 | — |
| Impaired driving | 22.3 | 6.8 | 15% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 1 | 0.3 | — |
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.
Arviat is 36th 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+ |
| … | |||||
| 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− |
| 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 Arviat in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Around 220 violent incidents a year in the 3,330-resident police area around Arviat, 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 430 property crimes, plus 230 other violations, a year (2023–2025 average). Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot, one incident a year at the area’s rates.
Three years of Arviat’s crime index
Crime Severity Index
Its index peaked most recently, in 2025 (252.3); 2024 was the low point, at 162.5. 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 | Arviat | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 252.3 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 162.5 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 187.7 | 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 Arviat, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Few people behind the figures. With roughly 3,330 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.”
- Town and surroundings together. An RCMP or OPP detachment reports one set of figures for everywhere it polices, so Arviat’s are shared with its surroundings.
- Reading the number. Statistics Canada set the national index at 100 for 2006; every figure here is read against that.
- Solved cases. Cleared means solved by police, charged or not; it says nothing about what courts decide.
- How serious, not how safe. The index weighs crimes rather than counting them: a serious offence moves it far more than a minor one. Statistics Canada is plain about its limits: “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.”
Questions about safety in Arviat
Is Arviat safe?
Arviat’s Crime Severity Index is 200.8 (2023–2025 mean); its police record 66 violent incidents and 131.9 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 Arviat?
Mischief is the most common, at 117.1 per 1,000 residents a year, then other Criminal Code offences (60.5) and assault (39.6).
Is crime going up in Arviat?
Up 34%: 187.7 in 2023, 252.3 in 2025. With few people or missing years behind it, the change is a rough one.
How much of Arviat’s crime do police solve?
Police cleared 50% of crime once each incident is weighted by seriousness: 70% of violent crime and 34% of the rest, against 34% for the typical Canadian town its size.
Whose figures are these?
A police service or detachment that covers Arviat and other places, so the figures are shared.
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).