Photo: The Town of Ajax · CC BY 3.0Ajax records less crime per resident than three in four Canadian towns
Violence and property crime split as 7.9 violent incidents and 20.4 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents a year, beside 10.8 and 25.1 in the typical town its size. Measured on crime the police covering Ajax reported between 2023 and 2025, it earns a Safety Grade of A−: #234 of 862 in Ontario. Against usual levels of 75.2 and 54.2, violent and non-violent offences here reach 61.4 and 39.9. None of the 3 towns next door with figures records less crime per resident.
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 Durham Region (Oshawa/Whitby/Ajax) service area.
What stands out about safety in Ajax
A lower index than most towns its size
Of the 40 Canadian towns nearest it in size, Ajax places 8th from the lowest index. Towns its size ↓
Near the Ontario middle
Ajax’s index of 45.8 compares with 56.2 for the typical town in Ontario. Towns its size ↓
Written from Statistics Canada’s police-reported crime by police service and detachment, 2023–2025. Figures are what police recorded, not convictions.
What sits behind Ajax’s A−
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: #234 of 862 in Ontario and #432 of 2,572 Canadian towns.
The Crime Severity Index and its two halves, beside the typical figure for Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more.
By its index, Ajax stands 8th of 40 towns its size
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Milton Ontario | 157,345 | 31.4 | 28.3 | A |
| … | |||||
| 5 | Terrebonne Quebec | 126,872 | 41.6 | 72.5 | A− |
| 6 | Cape Breton Nova Scotia | 106,752 | 44 | 56.2 | A− |
| 7 | Whitby Ontario | 162,413 | 45.8 | 61.4 | A− |
| 8 | Ajax Ontario | 141,111 | 45.8 | 61.4 | A− |
| 9 | Pickering Ontario | 118,378 | 45.8 | 61.4 | A− |
| 10 | Bowmanville Ontario | 114,180 | 45.8 | 61.4 | A− |
| 11 | Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu Quebec | 100,806 | 53.1 | 81 | B+ |
| … | |||||
| 14 | St. Catharines Ontario | 153,865 | 56.1 | 72.6 | B |
| 15 | Niagara Falls Ontario | 113,983 | 56.1 | 72.6 | B |
| 16 | Guelph Ontario | 160,760 | 56.8 | 73.1 | B |
| … | |||||
| 40 | Victoria British Columbia | 103,888 | 161.3 | 160.1 | 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 Ajax in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Ajax’s crime by kind
Mischief and break and enter sit below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 10.7 | 0.01 | 78% |
| Sexual violations against children | 118.7 | 0.2 | 61% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 92.7 | 0.1 | 100% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 68.3 | 0.09 | 41% |
| Robbery | 303 | 0.4 | 49% |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 24 | 0.03 | 75% |
| Other violent violations | 106.3 | 0.1 | 53% |
| Breaking and entering | 1,113.7 | 1.4 | 29% |
| Possession of stolen property | 152.3 | 0.2 | 89% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 1,359.7 | 1.7 | 10% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 256.3 | 0.3 | 19% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 7,521.7 | 9.5 | 24% |
| Mischief | 2,015.3 | 2.6 | 23% |
| Weapons violations | 122.3 | 0.2 | 88% |
| Administration of justice violations | 5,130.7 | 6.5 | 94% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 249.3 | 0.3 | 69% |
| Drug violations | 551.7 | 0.7 | 93% |
| Impaired driving | 813.3 | 1 | 99% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 153 | 0.2 | 18% |
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 50,000 people or more.
Ajax’s index fell 8% from 2023 to 2025
Crime Severity Index
Its index peaked in 2024 at 47.2, between two lighter years; the lowest, 2025, came in at 43.2. The typical Canadian town its size went from 64.3 in 2023 to 59.2 in 2025.
Every year as a table
| Year | Ajax | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 43.2 | 59.2 |
| 2024 | 47.2 | 59.9 |
| 2023 | 47 | 64.3 |
Statistics Canada, Crime Severity Index by police service, each year as published. Typical: the median of Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more.
The Crime Severity Index of the police covering Ajax, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Around 6,230 violent incidents a year in the 810,100-resident police area around Ajax, 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.
Property crime adds about 16,100 a year and other violations 7,580 (2023–2025 average). Of 1,000 dots, one per resident, the coloured ones are a year’s incidents at these rates.
Crime in the places around Ajax
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ajax | 141,111 | 45.8 | 61.4 | A− |
| Pickering | 118,378 | 45.8 | 61.4 | A− |
| Whitby | 162,413 | 45.8 | 61.4 | A− |
| West Rouge | 20,915 | 66 | 92.6 | A− |
| Centennial Scarborough | 13,453 | 66 | 92.6 | A |
| Highland Creek | 12,678 | 66 | 92.6 | B+ |
| Oshawa | 213,592 | 45.8 | 61.4 | A− |
Each neighbour with its own figure comes in over Ajax. Same police, same number: 3 neighbours drop out of the comparison for that reason.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Severity, weighed. 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.”
- One service, several municipalities. Ajax is policed by a service that covers other municipalities too, and Statistics Canada reports the service as a whole.
- What 100 means. The index is scaled so that Canada as a whole scored 100 in its base year, 2006: a town at 50 has half that severity per resident.
- The clearance rate. Cleared means solved by police, charged or not; it says nothing about what courts decide.
Questions about safety in Ajax
Is Ajax safe?
Its police recorded 7.9 violent incidents and 20.4 property crimes a year per 1,000 residents over 2023–2025, which gives Ajax a Crime Severity Index of 45.8. The middle of Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more is 60.3.
What is the most common crime in Ajax?
Theft under $5,000 is the most common, at 9.5 per 1,000 residents a year, then other Criminal Code offences (7.3) and fraud (4.6).
Is crime going up in Ajax?
Over 2023–2025 the index dropped 8%, to 43.2 from 47.
How much of Ajax’s crime do police solve?
42%, by the weighted clearance rate, where the typical Canadian town its size manages 38%. Violent crime is cleared at 55% and non-violent crime at 35%.
Whose figures are these?
A shared service or detachment’s, reported as one for Ajax and everywhere else it polices.
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).