Photo: Ansgar Walk · CC BY-SA 2.5Few Canadian towns record more crime per resident than Cape Dorset
Behind the grade sit 256.5 violent incidents and 410.4 incidents of property crime per 1,000 people a year, where the comparison is 12.0 and 31.2 in the typical Canadian town of 2,500+. A Safety Grade of D− follows from crime the police covering Cape Dorset reported over the years 2023 to 2025. Violence accounts for an index of 1,171.6 and other offences for 467.1, against usual levels of 86.4 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. Crime severity, crime rate and incident counts: the Cape Dorset detachment area.
What stands out about safety in Cape Dorset
Mischief: high for a town its size
Cape Dorset records 380.8 incidents of mischief per 1,000 residents a year, against 4.2 in the typical town among Canadian towns of 2,500 people or more. By type ↓
A high clearance rate
Police cleared 61% of Cape Dorset’s crime, weighted by seriousness (76% of violent crime, 46% of the rest), against 34% across Canadian towns of 2,500 people or more. Questions ↓
Violence weighs more than the rest
Set beside the typical Canadian town of 2,500+, Cape Dorset’s two halves part ways: 1,171.6 for violence (typical 86.4) and 467.1 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.
The D− for Cape Dorset, and how it is built
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.
The Crime Severity Index and its two halves, beside the typical figure for Canadian towns of 2,500 people or more.
Cape Dorset’s crime by kind
Against the typical town its size, Cape Dorset runs highest on mischief (380.8 per 1,000 against 4.2), assault (165.5 per 1,000 against 6.7) and sexual assault (7.6 per 1,000 against 0.8). Theft under $5,000 sits below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0 | 0 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 8 | 5.1 | 88% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 13 | 8.3 | 98% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 3.3 | 2.1 | — |
| Robbery | 1.3 | 0.8 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 1 | 0.6 | — |
| Other violent violations | 6 | 3.8 | 55% |
| Breaking and entering | 12.3 | 7.8 | 51% |
| Possession of stolen property | 0 | 0 | — |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 4.7 | 3 | — |
| Theft over $5,000 | 0.7 | 0.4 | — |
| Theft under $5,000 | 18.3 | 11.6 | 37% |
| Mischief | 600.3 | 380.8 | 44% |
| Weapons violations | 4.7 | 2.9 | — |
| Administration of justice violations | 76.7 | 48.5 | 73% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 16 | 10.1 | 44% |
| Drug violations | 3 | 1.9 | — |
| Impaired driving | 43.3 | 27.5 | 21% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 0.3 | 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 people or more.
About 400 violent incidents a year across the police area of 1,600 residents that includes Cape Dorset, 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.
Add about 650 property crimes and 450 other violations a year (2023–2025 average). The grid is 1,000 residents, a coloured dot for each incident a year at these rates.
Cape Dorset’s index year by year
Crime Severity Index
Nothing since 2023 has matched that year’s 703.4; the lightest was 2025, at 637.7. The typical Canadian town of 2,500+ went from 70.6 in 2023 to 62.9 in 2025.
Every year as a table
| Year | Cape Dorset | Typical town of 2,500+ |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 637.7 | 62.9 |
| 2024 | 651.8 | 68.5 |
| 2023 | 703.4 | 70.6 |
Statistics Canada, Crime Severity Index by police service, each year as published. Typical: the median of Canadian towns of 2,500 people or more.
The Crime Severity Index of the police covering Cape Dorset, each year, against the typical Canadian town of 2,500+.
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. Police-reported incidents, each multiplied by a weight drawn from court sentences, summed and divided by the population: that is the index, and its makers attach a caution, “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.”
- Small numbers. With roughly 1,600 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.”
- A detachment’s area. An RCMP or OPP detachment reports one set of figures for everywhere it polices, so Cape Dorset’s are shared with its surroundings.
- 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 Cape Dorset
Is Cape Dorset safe?
Against a typical 67.2 for Canadian towns of 2,500 people or more, Cape Dorset’s Crime Severity Index stands at 664.3 for 2023–2025. Its police record 256.5 violent incidents and 410.4 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year.
What is the most common crime in Cape Dorset?
Most often it is mischief: 380.8 per 1,000 residents a year. Next come other Criminal Code offences at 253.2 and assault at 165.5.
Is crime going up in Cape Dorset?
No: the index fell 9%, from 703.4 in 2023 to 637.7 in 2025. With few people or missing years behind it, the change is a rough one.
How much of Cape Dorset’s crime do police solve?
About 61% of crime is cleared, weighted by seriousness, with 76% of violent and 46% of other crime; the figure for the typical Canadian town of 2,500+ is 34%.
Whose figures are these?
A police service or detachment that covers Cape Dorset 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).