Photo: JFVoll · CC BY-SA 4.0Per resident, Brantford records more crime than 66% of Canadian towns
Of the two halves, violence comes to 101.8 and other offences to 70.2, beside norms of 75.2 and 54.2. Typical years here bring 14.5 violent incidents plus 34.4 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents, against 10.8 plus 25.1 in the typical town its size. Graded on crime the police covering Brantford reported from 2023 to 2025, it scores C for safety: #768 of 862 in Ontario. On top of that, the index rose from 78 in 2023 to 84 in 2025.
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.
What stands out about safety in Brantford
Over the Ontario norm
Within Ontario, the median town comes to 56.2 on the index, against 78.7 in Brantford. Towns its size ↓
Higher than many towns its size
Line up the 40 Canadian towns nearest in size by their index and Brantford stands 28th, the lowest first. Towns its size ↓
Motor vehicle theft: high for a town its size
Brantford records 3 incidents of motor vehicle theft per 1,000 residents a year, against 1.7 in the typical town among Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more. 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 Brantford’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: #768 of 862 in Ontario and #1,630 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.
Crime in Brantford, type by type
Against the typical town its size, Brantford runs highest on motor vehicle theft (3 per 1,000 against 1.7), assault (7.6 per 1,000 against 4.9) and mischief (5.6 per 1,000 against 3.8). Drug offences sits below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 2 | 0.02 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 44 | 0.4 | 63% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 46.7 | 0.4 | 100% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 11 | 0.09 | 64% |
| Robbery | 59 | 0.5 | 58% |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 23 | 0.2 | 97% |
| Other violent violations | 30.7 | 0.3 | 64% |
| Breaking and entering | 357.7 | 3 | 23% |
| Possession of stolen property | 49 | 0.4 | 57% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 359.7 | 3 | 12% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 70.3 | 0.6 | 10% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 1,873.3 | 15.5 | 15% |
| Mischief | 674.3 | 5.6 | 18% |
| Weapons violations | 59.3 | 0.5 | 75% |
| Administration of justice violations | 1,205.3 | 10 | 97% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 81.7 | 0.7 | 60% |
| Drug violations | 90.7 | 0.8 | 100% |
| Impaired driving | 141.3 | 1.2 | 97% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 13 | 0.1 | 95% |
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.
Among 40 towns its size, Brantford places 28th
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Repentigny Quebec | 91,290 | 28.1 | 48.2 | A+ |
| 2 | Milton Ontario | 157,345 | 31.4 | 28.3 | A |
| … | |||||
| 5 | Bolton Ontario | 90,201 | 39.2 | 51 | A |
| … | |||||
| 10 | Ajax Ontario | 141,111 | 45.8 | 61.4 | A− |
| 11 | Pickering Ontario | 118,378 | 45.8 | 61.4 | A− |
| … | |||||
| 25 | Chatham Ontario | 112,716 | 72.1 | 74.8 | C+ |
| 26 | Drummondville Quebec | 85,560 | 72.2 | 124.7 | C+ |
| 27 | Kingston Ontario | 149,527 | 73.9 | 72.6 | C+ |
| 28 | Brantford Ontario | 123,521 | 78.7 | 101.8 | C |
| 29 | St. John's Newfoundland and Labrador | 128,693 | 81 | 104.2 | C |
| 30 | Maple Ridge British Columbia | 105,925 | 87 | 97.6 | C |
| 31 | New Westminster British Columbia | 92,124 | 87.9 | 94.6 | C |
| … | |||||
| 40 | Prince George British Columbia | 85,944 | 209.1 | 239.6 | 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 Brantford in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Brantford, year by year
Crime Severity Index
It closed on its heaviest year, 2025, at 84; the lightest was 2024, at 74.2. The typical Canadian town its size went from 64.3 in 2023 to 59.2 in 2025.
Every year as a table
| Year | Brantford | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 84 | 59.2 |
| 2024 | 74.2 | 59.9 |
| 2023 | 78 | 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 Brantford, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Around 1,750 violent incidents a year on Brantford’s police records (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 4,160 property crimes, plus 1,760 other violations, a year (2023–2025 average). Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot, one incident a year at the area’s rates.
Crime in the places around Brantford
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brantford | 123,521 | 78.7 | 101.8 | C |
| Paris | 45,565 | 36.6 | 30.9 | A |
| Six Nations (Part) 40 | 7,298 | 127.4 | 214.9 | D |
| Lynden | 10,442 | 65.7 | 85.7 | B− |
2 of the 3 neighbours with their own figures score lower than Brantford. Just 9.6 km away, Paris comes to 36.6, against 78.7.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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. A crime is cleared when police lay or recommend a charge, or solve it another way; the weighted rate counts serious crimes for more.
- Severity, weighed. Statistics Canada, which publishes the index, attaches a caution: “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.” The number weighs each reported crime by its seriousness before dividing by residents.
Questions about safety in Brantford
Is Brantford safe?
Against a typical 60.3 for Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more, Brantford’s Crime Severity Index stands at 78.7 for 2023–2025. Its police record 14.5 violent incidents and 34.4 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year.
What is the most common crime in Brantford?
Top of the list is theft under $5,000 (15.5 per 1,000 residents a year); other Criminal Code offences, at 12.1, and assault, at 7.6, follow.
Is crime going up in Brantford?
Yes: the index rose 8%, from 78 in 2023 to 84 in 2025.
How much of Brantford’s crime do police solve?
About 44% of crime is cleared, weighted by seriousness, with 68% of violent and 30% of other crime; the figure for the typical Canadian town its size is 38%.
Whose figures are these?
A police service or contract that serves Brantford alone, so the figures are the town’s.
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).