Photo: Richard apple · CC BY-SA 3.0Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh sees less crime per resident than nine in ten Canadian towns
The index fell from 36.6 in 2023 to 32.9 in 2025. On crime the police covering Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh reported from 2023 to 2025, it grades A for safety: #138 of 862 in Ontario. Typical years here bring 6.2 violent incidents plus 11.2 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents, against 12.9 plus 31.2 in the typical town its size. Against usual levels of 85.7 and 62.8, violent and non-violent offences here reach 39.3 and 33.5.
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 published for the Huron (Huron/Wingham) detachment area, not by town.
What stands out about safety in Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh
Under the Ontario norm
Within Ontario, the median town comes to 56.2 on the index, against 35 in Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh. Towns its size ↓
A lower index than most towns its size
Line up the 40 Canadian towns nearest in size by their index and Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh stands 7th, the lowest first. Towns its size ↓
A high clearance rate
Weighted by seriousness, 46% of crime in Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh ends in a charge or is otherwise solved: 77% of violent crime and 30% of the rest. Across Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people the figure is 34%. Questions ↓
Written from Statistics Canada’s police-reported crime by police service and detachment, 2023–2025. Figures are what police recorded, not convictions.
The grade: A for Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh
How sure: Less sure than most. No detachment reports for Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh itself, so the grade rests on the nearest one’s figures, 27 km away.
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: #138 of 862 in Ontario and #174 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.
Which crimes make up Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh’s figures
Mischief 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 | 4.3 | 0.2 | — |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 2.3 | 0.10 | — |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 0 | 0 | — |
| Robbery | 1 | 0.04 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 2 | 0.09 | — |
| Other violent violations | 0.7 | 0.03 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 39.7 | 1.7 | 22% |
| Possession of stolen property | 3.3 | 0.1 | — |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 25.3 | 1.1 | 24% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 9.7 | 0.4 | 7% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 57 | 2.4 | 15% |
| Mischief | 43.7 | 1.9 | 21% |
| Weapons violations | 6.3 | 0.3 | 59% |
| Administration of justice violations | 58 | 2.5 | 73% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 8.7 | 0.4 | 54% |
| Drug violations | 8.3 | 0.4 | 88% |
| Impaired driving | 36.3 | 1.5 | 100% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 10 | 0.4 | 3% |
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.
By its index, Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh stands 7th of 40 towns its size
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Trent Lakes Ontario | 7,357 | 20.6 | 24.8 | A+ |
| 2 | Parkhill Ontario | 6,864 | 25.7 | 29 | A+ |
| 3 | Lucan Ontario | 6,827 | 25.7 | 29 | A+ |
| 4 | Shannon Quebec | 7,088 | 28.2 | 46.7 | A+ |
| 5 | L'Ange-Gardien Quebec | 7,068 | 29.4 | 51.6 | A+ |
| 6 | Colborne Ontario | 7,216 | 30.1 | 41.7 | A+ |
| 7 | Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh Ontario | 7,052 | 35 | 39.3 | A |
| 8 | Niverville Manitoba | 7,277 | 36.3 | 55.5 | A |
| 9 | Les Cèdres Quebec | 7,145 | 39.2 | 61.7 | A |
| 10 | Fairwinds British Columbia | 7,125 | 44.5 | 43.2 | A− |
| … | |||||
| 13 | Wainfleet Ontario | 7,329 | 56.1 | 72.6 | B |
| … | |||||
| 40 | Algoma, Unorganized, North Part Ontario | 7,008 | 302.3 | 509 | 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 Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
The detachment nearest Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh, 23,900 residents: around 150 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 260 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.
Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh, year by year
Crime Severity Index
Its heaviest year came first: 2023, at 36.6, against a low of 32.9 in 2025. The comparison line, the typical Canadian town its size, runs from 74.3 in 2023 to 64.2 by 2025.
Every year as a table
| Year | Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 32.9 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 35.4 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 36.6 | 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 Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Crime in the places around Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh | 7,052 | 35 | 39.3 | A |
| Goderich (13 km) | 8,412 | 68.4 | 100.1 | B− |
| Clinton (24 km) | 8,318 | 72.5 | 106.8 | C+ |
| Huron-Kinloss (24 km) | 8,445 | 35 | 39.3 | A |
| Wingham (25 km) | 5,411 | 52.3 | 65.1 | B+ |
| Morris-Turnberry (29 km) | 4,028 | 35 | 39.3 | A |
Each neighbour with its own figure comes in over Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh. Same police, same number: 2 neighbours drop out of the comparison for that reason.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means. Distances here run 13–29 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Severity, weighed. Statistics Canada builds the index from every crime police record, weighted by how seriously the courts treat it, and divides by the population. It adds a warning of its own: “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.”
- What 100 means. 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.
- The clearance rate. Weighted like the index, so solving one assault counts for more than solving a mischief; a charge laid, recommended or otherwise resolved all count.
Questions about safety in Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh
Is Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh safe?
Police-reported crime in Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh scores 35 on Statistics Canada’s Crime Severity Index (2023–2025 mean), with 6.2 violent incidents and 11.2 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 Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh?
Police record fraud most, 3.5 per 1,000 residents a year, ahead of Criminal Code traffic offences (3.4) and other Criminal Code offences (3.3).
Is crime going up in Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh?
Over 2023–2025 the index dropped 10%, to 32.9 from 36.6.
How much of Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh’s crime do police solve?
Police solve 77% of violent crime and 30% of everything else, 46% overall once each crime is weighted by seriousness, against 34% for the typical Canadian town its size.
Whose figures are these?
Those of the police serving Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh together with its neighbours or the countryside around it.
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).