Photo: https://www.flickr.com/people/naturallight/ Leslie Philipp · CC BY 2.0Sanikiluaq records more crime per resident than 98% of Canadian towns
Violence accounts for an index of 833 and other offences for 234.4, against usual levels of 86.4 and 62.8. Out of every 1,000 residents, 108.4 violent incidents and 134.5 incidents of property crime are reported annually, against 12.0 and 31.2 in the typical Canadian town of 2,500+. Scored on crime the police covering Sanikiluaq reported across 2023 to 2025, the town lands on D− for safety.
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 Sanikiluaq detachment area.
What stands out about safety in Sanikiluaq
Mischief: high for a town its size
Sanikiluaq records 103 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 ↓
Heavier on violence
Set beside the typical Canadian town of 2,500+, Sanikiluaq’s two halves part ways: 833 for violence (typical 86.4) and 234.4 for the rest (typical 62.8). By type ↓
More crime solved
Police cleared 63% of Sanikiluaq’s crime, weighted by seriousness (77% of violent crime, 42% of the rest), against 34% across Canadian towns of 2,500 people or more. Questions ↓
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 Sanikiluaq’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.
The Crime Severity Index and its two halves, beside the typical figure for Canadian towns of 2,500 people or more.
Sanikiluaq’s crime by kind
Against the typical town its size, Sanikiluaq runs highest on mischief (103 per 1,000 against 4.2), assault (61.4 per 1,000 against 6.7) and sexual assault (4.5 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 | 0.3 | 0.3 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 9 | 8.1 | 48% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 7 | 6.3 | 96% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 1.3 | 1.2 | — |
| Robbery | 0.3 | 0.3 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 1.3 | 1.2 | — |
| Other violent violations | 1 | 0.9 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 14.7 | 13.3 | 43% |
| Possession of stolen property | 0.3 | 0.3 | — |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 2 | 1.8 | — |
| Theft over $5,000 | 0.3 | 0.3 | — |
| Theft under $5,000 | 9 | 8.2 | 52% |
| Mischief | 113.7 | 103 | 36% |
| Weapons violations | 0.7 | 0.6 | — |
| Administration of justice violations | 37 | 33.5 | 59% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 4 | 3.6 | — |
| Drug violations | 2.3 | 2.1 | — |
| Impaired driving | 14.7 | 13.2 | 9% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 0.7 | 0.6 | — |
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.
The police area Sanikiluaq is part of, 1,140 residents, recorded about 120 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.
Add about 150 property crimes and 110 other violations a year (2023–2025 average). The grid is 1,000 residents, a coloured dot for each incident a year at these rates.
Sanikiluaq’s index, one year at a time
Crime Severity Index
Its index peaked in 2024 at 415.1, between two lighter years; the lowest, 2025, came in at 380. The typical Canadian town of 2,500+ went from 70.6 in 2023 to 62.9 in 2025.
Every year as a table
| Year | Sanikiluaq | Typical town of 2,500+ |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 380 | 62.9 |
| 2024 | 415.1 | 68.5 |
| 2023 | 413.7 | 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 Sanikiluaq, each year, against the typical Canadian town of 2,500+.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- A small police area. About 1,141 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 Sanikiluaq’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.
- What clearance means. A cleared case is one police consider solved. Whether anyone is convicted is a separate matter the rate doesn’t follow.
- 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.”
Questions about safety in Sanikiluaq
Is Sanikiluaq safe?
A Crime Severity Index of 402.9 (2023–2025), set beside a median of 67.2 for Canadian towns of 2,500 people or more: that is where Sanikiluaq stands, with 108.4 violent and 134.5 property incidents per 1,000 residents a year.
What is the most common crime in Sanikiluaq?
Police record mischief most, 103 per 1,000 residents a year, ahead of other Criminal Code offences (79.7) and assault (61.4).
Is crime going up in Sanikiluaq?
No: the index fell 8%, from 413.7 in 2023 to 380 in 2025. With few people or missing years behind it, the change is a rough one.
How much of Sanikiluaq’s crime do police solve?
Weighted by seriousness, police cleared 63% of crime (77% of violent crime, 42% of the rest). The typical Canadian town of 2,500+ clears 34%.
Whose figures are these?
A police service or detachment that covers Sanikiluaq 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).