Photo: P199 · Public domainFewer crimes per resident are recorded in Chalk River than in 87% of Canadian towns
Behind the grade sit 11.4 violent incidents and 13.9 incidents of property crime per 1,000 people a year, where the comparison is 12.9 and 31.2 in the typical town its size. On top of that, on the record of crime the police covering Chalk River reported from 2023 to 2025, it takes A for safety: #182 of 862 in Ontario. Of the two halves, violence comes to 59.3 and other offences to 30.6, beside norms of 85.7 and 62.8. Police clear 39% of crime, weighted by seriousness; the figure for the typical Canadian town its size is 34%.
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 Chalk River
A lower index than most towns its size
Of the 40 Canadian towns nearest it in size, Chalk River places 3rd from the lowest index. Towns its size ↓
Under the Ontario norm
Chalk River’s index of 38.6 compares with 56.2 for the typical town in Ontario. Towns its size ↓
Violent crime leads the index
Set beside the typical Canadian town its size, Chalk River’s two halves part ways: 59.3 for violence (typical 85.7) and 30.6 for the rest (typical 62.8). 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 sits behind Chalk River’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: #182 of 862 in Ontario and #262 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.
Chalk River’s crime by kind
Against the typical town its size, Chalk River runs highest on fraud (6.3 per 1,000 against 4.9). 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 | 0.7 | 0.3 | — |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 0 | 0 | — |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 0 | 0 | — |
| Robbery | 0 | 0 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 0.3 | 0.1 | — |
| Other violent violations | 1 | 0.4 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 2.7 | 1.1 | — |
| Possession of stolen property | 0.3 | 0.1 | — |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 1.7 | 0.7 | — |
| Theft over $5,000 | 1 | 0.4 | — |
| Theft under $5,000 | 6 | 2.5 | 12% |
| Mischief | 6.3 | 2.6 | 21% |
| Weapons violations | 0.3 | 0.1 | — |
| Administration of justice violations | 6.3 | 2.6 | 68% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 1 | 0.4 | — |
| Drug violations | 1 | 0.4 | — |
| Impaired driving | 1.7 | 0.7 | — |
| Failing to stop or remain | 0 | 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.
Chalk River comes 3rd of the 40 towns nearest in size
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adelaide-Metcalfe Ontario | 3,196 | 25.7 | 29 | A+ |
| 2 | Admaston/Bromley Ontario | 3,086 | 33.5 | 57.5 | A |
| 3 | Chalk River Ontario | 3,147 | 38.6 | 59.3 | A |
| 4 | Beaumont Quebec | 3,188 | 39.7 | 73 | A |
| 5 | Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré Quebec | 3,173 | 42.7 | 62.9 | A− |
| 6 | Saint-Alexis-des-Monts Quebec | 3,190 | 44.3 | 60.8 | A− |
| … | |||||
| 12 | French River / Rivière des Français Ontario | 3,178 | 49.3 | 58.8 | B+ |
| 13 | Athens Ontario | 3,078 | 49.6 | 50.6 | B+ |
| … | |||||
| 29 | Marathon Ontario | 3,223 | 74.7 | 120.7 | C+ |
| … | |||||
| 39 | Enniskillen Ontario | 3,174 | 333.9 | 378.3 | D− |
| 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 Chalk River in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
About 28 violent incidents a year reached Chalk River’s police, 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 34 property crimes, plus 11 other violations, a year (2023–2025 average). Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot, one incident a year at the area’s rates.
Chalk River’s index year by year
Crime Severity Index
The middle year, 2024, was the heaviest at 45.5; 2023 was lightest, at 31.5. The typical Canadian town its size went from 74.3 in 2023 to 64.2 in 2025.
Every year as a table
| Year | Chalk River | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 38.6 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 45.5 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 31.5 | 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 Chalk River, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Crime in the places around Chalk River
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chalk River | 3,147 | 38.6 | 59.3 | A |
| Deep River (8 km) | 4,353 | 39.3 | 56 | A |
| Petawawa (23 km) | 19,606 | 29.3 | 42.6 | A+ |
| Laurentian Valley (35 km) | 9,714 | 36.3 | 44.5 | A |
| L'Isle-aux-Allumettes (36 km) | 1,413 | 55.7 | 83.9 | B |
| Pembroke (37 km) | 15,479 | 112.1 | 153.4 | C− |
Nearby, 2 of 5 places with their own figures have a lower index than Chalk River. Petawawa, 22.5 km away, is the nearest lower one, at 29.3 to 38.6.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means. The nearest places to Chalk River with figures are 8–37 km away.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Solved cases. A crime is cleared when police lay or recommend a charge, or solve it another way; the weighted rate counts serious crimes for more.
- How serious, not how safe. 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.”
- Few people behind the figures. With roughly 2,455 residents in its police area, a few cases swing the figures. In Statistics Canada’s words, “Data for police services or detachments with populations less than 5,000 should be used with caution.”
- Reading the number. 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.
Questions about safety in Chalk River
Is Chalk River safe?
Chalk River scores 38.6 on Statistics Canada’s Crime Severity Index (2023–2025 mean), where the typical figure for Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people is 68.5; per 1,000 residents a year that is 11.4 violent incidents and 13.9 property crimes.
What is the most common crime in Chalk River?
The three biggest groups are fraud at 6.3, assault at 4 and other Criminal Code offences at 3.3, each per 1,000 residents a year.
Is crime going up in Chalk River?
It went up 23% between 2023 and 2025, from 31.5 to 38.6. With few people or missing years behind it, the change is a rough one.
How much of Chalk River’s crime do police solve?
About 39% of crime is cleared, weighted by seriousness, with 69% of violent and 18% of other crime; the figure for the typical Canadian town its size is 34%.
Whose figures are these?
They are Chalk River’s own: its police cover the town and no other.
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).