Photo: P199 · CC BY-SA 3.0Per resident, Adelaide-Metcalfe records less crime than 98% of Canadian towns
Both towns on its borders with figures record more crime per resident. Adelaide-Metcalfe’s letter for safety is A+, worked out from crime the police covering Adelaide-Metcalfe reported over 2023 to 2025: #49 of 862 in Ontario. Against usual levels of 85.7 and 62.8, violent and non-violent offences here reach 29 and 24.6. Annual rates stand at 5.1 violent incidents and 10.7 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. The crime severity, crime rate and incident counts numbers here cover the Middlesex detachment area.
What stands out about safety in Adelaide-Metcalfe
Lower than most of Ontario
Within Ontario, the median town comes to 56.2 on the index, against 25.7 in Adelaide-Metcalfe. Towns its size ↓
A lower index than most towns its size
Line up the 40 Canadian towns nearest in size by their index and Adelaide-Metcalfe stands 1st, the lowest first. Towns its size ↓
Down since 2023
Adelaide-Metcalfe’s index went from 28.6 in 2023 to 23.5 in 2025; the typical Canadian town its size moved from 74.3 to 64.2. Year by year ↓
Written from Statistics Canada’s police-reported crime by police service and detachment, 2023–2025. Figures are what police recorded, not convictions.
Adelaide-Metcalfe: A+ for safety, and why
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: #49 of 862 in Ontario and #54 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 Adelaide-Metcalfe, by type
Assault and theft under $5,000 sit below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0 | 0 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 7 | 0.2 | 81% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 3.7 | 0.09 | — |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 1 | 0.02 | — |
| Robbery | 0.3 | 0.01 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 1.3 | 0.03 | — |
| Other violent violations | 3.3 | 0.08 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 40.3 | 1 | 18% |
| Possession of stolen property | 5.7 | 0.1 | 93% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 43.3 | 1 | 10% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 15.7 | 0.4 | 2% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 116 | 2.8 | 15% |
| Mischief | 82.3 | 2 | 22% |
| Weapons violations | 3.7 | 0.09 | — |
| Administration of justice violations | 53.7 | 1.3 | 69% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 10 | 0.2 | 53% |
| Drug violations | 10.7 | 0.3 | 78% |
| Impaired driving | 47.3 | 1.1 | 100% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 5.7 | 0.1 | 0% |
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.
Adelaide-Metcalfe is 1st of 40 towns its size, lowest index first
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adelaide-Metcalfe Ontario | 3,196 | 25.7 | 29 | A+ |
| 2 | Greater Madawaska Ontario | 3,234 | 29.1 | 36.6 | A+ |
| 3 | Coalhurst Alberta | 3,244 | 35.7 | 34 | A |
| 4 | Hampton New Brunswick | 3,268 | 37.7 | 35.6 | A |
| 5 | Chalk River Ontario | 3,147 | 38.6 | 59.3 | A |
| … | |||||
| 7 | North Algona Wilberforce Ontario | 3,290 | 41.5 | 77.6 | A− |
| … | |||||
| 14 | French River / Rivière des Français Ontario | 3,178 | 49.3 | 58.8 | B+ |
| … | |||||
| 27 | Marathon Ontario | 3,223 | 74.7 | 120.7 | C+ |
| … | |||||
| 40 | La Loche Saskatchewan | 3,124 | 1,107 | 1,524.7 | 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 Adelaide-Metcalfe in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Year by year in Adelaide-Metcalfe: down 18%, 2023 to 2025
Crime Severity Index
Its heaviest year came first: 2023, at 28.6, against a low of 23.5 in 2025. For the typical Canadian town its size, 2023 gave 74.3 and 2025 gave 64.2.
Every year as a table
| Year | Adelaide-Metcalfe | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 23.5 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 25.1 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 28.6 | 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 Adelaide-Metcalfe, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Around 210 violent incidents a year in the 41,800-resident police area around Adelaide-Metcalfe, 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 450 property crimes and 170 other violations a year (2023–2025 average). The grid is 1,000 residents, a coloured dot for each incident a year at these rates.
Crime in the places around Adelaide-Metcalfe
The places around Adelaide-Metcalfe all score higher on the index.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The index’s scale. Its scale starts from Canada in 2006, set at 100, so a figure above 100 means more serious crime per resident than the country had then.
- 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.
- 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.”
- Shared with the countryside. An RCMP or OPP detachment reports one set of figures for everywhere it polices, so Adelaide-Metcalfe’s are shared with its surroundings.
Questions about safety in Adelaide-Metcalfe
Is Adelaide-Metcalfe safe?
Police-reported crime in Adelaide-Metcalfe scores 25.7 on Statistics Canada’s Crime Severity Index (2023–2025 mean), with 5.1 violent incidents and 10.7 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year. Across Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, the median is 68.5.
What is the most common crime in Adelaide-Metcalfe?
The three biggest groups are fraud at 3.3, theft under $5,000 at 2.8 and assault at 2.7, each per 1,000 residents a year.
Is crime going up in Adelaide-Metcalfe?
The reverse: 28.6 in 2023 came down to 23.5 by 2025, 18% lower.
How much of Adelaide-Metcalfe’s crime do police solve?
Police cleared 39% of crime once each incident is weighted by seriousness: 71% of violent crime and 24% of the rest, against 34% for the typical Canadian town its size.
Whose figures are these?
A police service or detachment that covers Adelaide-Metcalfe 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).