Photo: OhanaUnited Talk page · CC BY-SA 4.0Rankin Inlet has more crime per resident than almost every Canadian town
The grade is D−, built on crime the police covering Rankin Inlet reported from 2023 to 2025: #2,561 of 2,572 Canadian towns. Add to that, for every 1,000 residents, 202.3 violent incidents and 339.9 incidents of property crime were logged a year; in the typical town its size, the figures are 12.9 and 31.2. Violence accounts for an index of 858.4 and other offences for 415.1, against usual levels of 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. Crime severity, crime rate and incident counts for the Rankin Inlet detachment area.
What stands out about safety in Rankin Inlet
Mischief: high for a town its size
Rankin Inlet records 306 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
Line up the 40 Canadian towns nearest in size by their index and Rankin Inlet stands 39th, the lowest first. Towns its size ↓
Above-typical clearance
For Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people the typical clearance rate is 34%; Rankin Inlet’s police clear 49%, 59% of violent crime and 42% of the rest. Questions ↓
Violent crime leads the index
Rankin Inlet’s index splits into violent crime, 858.4 here and 85.7 for the typical Canadian town its size, and everything else, 415.1 against 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 Rankin Inlet’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: #2,561 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.
What police record in Rankin Inlet, by type
Against the typical town its size, Rankin Inlet runs highest on mischief (306 per 1,000 against 4.9), assault (148.9 per 1,000 against 6.7) and sexual assault (7.8 per 1,000 against 0.9). Fraud and theft under $5,000 sit below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 1 | 0.3 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 10 | 2.9 | 53% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 17.3 | 5.1 | 100% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 4 | 1.2 | — |
| Robbery | 0.7 | 0.2 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 4.3 | 1.3 | — |
| Other violent violations | 3.3 | 1 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 44 | 13 | 33% |
| Possession of stolen property | 0.7 | 0.2 | — |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 22.7 | 6.7 | 38% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 0.3 | 0.10 | — |
| Theft under $5,000 | 32 | 9.4 | 26% |
| Mischief | 1,039.7 | 306 | 43% |
| Weapons violations | 6.7 | 2 | 49% |
| Administration of justice violations | 163.3 | 48.1 | 55% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 21 | 6.2 | 67% |
| Drug violations | 2.7 | 0.8 | — |
| Impaired driving | 162 | 47.7 | 14% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 1.7 | 0.5 | — |
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.
Rankin Inlet comes 39th of the 40 towns nearest in size
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saint-Gabriel-de-Valcartier Quebec | 3,400 | 28.2 | 46.7 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 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 Rankin Inlet in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
3,360 residents, about 690 violent incidents a year: the police area Rankin Inlet belongs to, 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 1,150 property crimes, plus 840 other violations, a year (2023–2025 average). Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot, one incident a year at the area’s rates.
The index in Rankin Inlet, each year
Crime Severity Index
It finished on its highest reading, 565.7 in 2025, having been lowest in 2024 at 485.5. The typical Canadian town its size went from 74.3 in 2023 to 64.2 in 2025.
Every year as a table
| Year | Rankin Inlet | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 565.7 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 485.5 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 564.2 | 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 Rankin Inlet, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- An index, not a verdict. 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.”
- Read with care. About 3,356 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. The detachment counts crime across its whole territory, of which Rankin Inlet is one part.
- The index’s scale. 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.
- What clearance means. Police clear an incident by charging someone, recommending a charge, or closing it another way. The rate weighs serious crimes more, as the index does.
Questions about safety in Rankin Inlet
Is Rankin Inlet safe?
Rankin Inlet measures 538.5 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 202.3 violent incidents and 339.9 property crimes.
What is the most common crime in Rankin Inlet?
Police record mischief most, 306 per 1,000 residents a year, ahead of other Criminal Code offences (194.9) and assault (148.9).
Is crime going up in Rankin Inlet?
Barely: 564.2 in 2023, 565.7 in 2025. The police area is small or partly reported, so treat the change with care.
How much of Rankin Inlet’s crime do police solve?
The weighted clearance rate is 49%: 59% for violent crime and 42% for non-violent. For the typical Canadian town its size it is 34%.
Whose figures are these?
A police service or detachment that covers Rankin Inlet 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).