Photo: Rub-a-dub Hedgehog · CC BY 4.0Crime in Chatham sits close to the middle of Canadian towns
Out of every 1,000 residents, 11.0 violent incidents and 31.4 incidents of property crime are reported annually, against 10.8 and 25.1 in the typical town its size. All told, Chatham grades C+ for safety (#680 of 862 in Ontario): close to the middle of Canadian towns, on crime its police reported from 2023 to 2025. Even so, by 2025 the index had dropped to 65.7, down from 76.2 in 2023. Violence accounts for an index of 74.8 and other offences for 71.7, against usual levels of 75.2 and 54.2.
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 Chatham
Break and enter: high for a town its size
Chatham records 5.8 incidents of break and enter per 1,000 residents a year, against 2.2 in the typical town among Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more. By type ↓
Above Ontario’s typical town
Chatham’s index of 72.1 compares with 56.2 for the typical town in Ontario. Towns its size ↓
In the middle of towns its size
Of the 40 Canadian towns nearest it in size, Chatham places 20th from the lowest index. Towns its size ↓
Above-typical clearance
The weighted clearance rate, the share of crime police solve, is 47% for Chatham (77% violent, 35% non-violent), beside 38% for Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more. Questions ↓
Written from Statistics Canada’s police-reported crime by police service and detachment, 2023–2025. Figures are what police recorded, not convictions.
The C+ for Chatham, and how it is built
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: #680 of 862 in Ontario and #1,466 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 Chatham, type by type
Against the typical town its size, Chatham runs highest on break and enter (5.8 per 1,000 against 2.2), mischief (6.3 per 1,000 against 3.8) and theft under $5,000 (14 per 1,000 against 11.5). Drug offences and fraud sit below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 1.7 | 0.02 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 37 | 0.3 | 91% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 28 | 0.3 | 100% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 6.7 | 0.06 | 100% |
| Robbery | 32.3 | 0.3 | 67% |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 6.7 | 0.06 | 100% |
| Other violent violations | 11.7 | 0.1 | 71% |
| Breaking and entering | 644 | 5.8 | 16% |
| Possession of stolen property | 53.3 | 0.5 | 94% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 226.7 | 2 | 11% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 83.7 | 0.8 | 14% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 1,553.3 | 14 | 26% |
| Mischief | 702 | 6.3 | 23% |
| Weapons violations | 28.3 | 0.3 | 96% |
| Administration of justice violations | 1,567 | 14.1 | 90% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 75 | 0.7 | 80% |
| Drug violations | 85 | 0.8 | 96% |
| Impaired driving | 125.3 | 1.1 | 99% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 11.3 | 0.1 | 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.
Chatham, year by year
Crime Severity Index
The index started at its highest, 76.2 in 2023, and touched its lowest in 2025, at 65.7. The typical Canadian town its size went from 64.3 in 2023 to 59.2 in 2025.
Every year as a table
| Year | Chatham | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 65.7 | 59.2 |
| 2024 | 74.5 | 59.9 |
| 2023 | 76.2 | 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 Chatham, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
About 1,220 violent incidents a year reached Chatham’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 3,500 property crimes, plus 2,080 other violations, a year (2023–2025 average). Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot, one incident a year at the area’s rates.
Chatham is 20th of 40 towns its size, lowest index first
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Repentigny Quebec | 91,290 | 28.1 | 48.2 | A+ |
| 2 | Lindsay Ontario | 85,351 | 31.7 | 42.8 | A |
| … | |||||
| 4 | Bolton Ontario | 90,201 | 39.2 | 51 | A |
| … | |||||
| 9 | Ajax Ontario | 141,111 | 45.8 | 61.4 | A− |
| 10 | Pickering Ontario | 118,378 | 45.8 | 61.4 | A− |
| … | |||||
| 17 | Strathcona County Alberta | 107,345 | 68.4 | 61.3 | B− |
| 18 | Peterborough Ontario | 97,834 | 71.7 | 89.4 | C+ |
| 19 | Waterloo Ontario | 142,450 | 71.9 | 89.7 | C+ |
| 20 | Chatham Ontario | 112,716 | 72.1 | 74.8 | C+ |
| 21 | Drummondville Quebec | 85,560 | 72.2 | 124.7 | C+ |
| 22 | Kingston Ontario | 149,527 | 73.9 | 72.6 | C+ |
| 23 | Saint-Jérôme Quebec | 85,160 | 77.6 | 129.6 | 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 Chatham in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Crime in the places around Chatham
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chatham | 112,716 | 72.1 | 74.8 | C+ |
| Walpole Island 46 (29 km) | 1,836 | 333.9 | 378.3 | D− |
| Dawn-Euphemia (34 km) | 2,127 | 333.9 | 378.3 | D− |
| Lakeshore (46 km) | 45,954 | 26.8 | 29 | A+ |
| Enniskillen (50 km) | 3,174 | 333.9 | 378.3 | D− |
1 of the 4 neighbours with their own figures score lower than Chatham. Just 45.9 km away, Lakeshore comes to 26.8, against 72.1.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means. The nearest places to Chatham with figures are 29–50 km away.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What 100 means. Figures are relative to one fixed point, Canada in 2006 at 100, rather than to this year’s national number.
- The clearance rate. Cleared means solved by police, charged or not; it says nothing about what courts decide.
- 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 Chatham
Is Chatham safe?
Police-reported crime in Chatham scores 72.1 on Statistics Canada’s Crime Severity Index (2023–2025 mean), with 11 violent incidents and 31.4 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year. In the middle of Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more the figure is 60.3.
What is the most common crime in Chatham?
Other Criminal Code offences is the most common, at 15.9 per 1,000 residents a year, then theft under $5,000 (14) and mischief (6.3).
Is crime going up in Chatham?
Over 2023–2025 the index dropped 14%, to 65.7 from 76.2.
How much of Chatham’s crime do police solve?
Police cleared 47% of crime once each incident is weighted by seriousness: 77% of violent crime and 35% of the rest, against 38% for the typical Canadian town its size.
Whose figures are these?
Its own police: the service or contract that covers Chatham and nowhere else.
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).