Photo: JustSomePics · CC BY-SA 3.0Chesley records less crime per resident than nine in ten Canadian towns
Of the two halves, violence comes to 38.7 and other offences to 32, beside norms of 85.7 and 62.8. About 40% of crime here is cleared by police, set against 34% for the typical Canadian town its size. What’s more, its Safety Grade is A, on crime the police covering Chesley reported from 2023 to 2025: #120 of 862 in Ontario. Annual rates stand at 6.8 violent incidents and 13.0 incidents of property crime for every thousand residents, next to 12.9 and 31.2 in the typical town its size.
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. Not measured by town: crime severity, crime rate and incident counts (the South Bruce detachment area).
What stands out about safety in Chesley
Lower than most of Ontario
Chesley’s index of 33.7 compares with 56.2 for the typical town in Ontario. Towns its size ↓
A lower index than most towns its size
Of the 40 Canadian towns nearest it in size, Chesley places 6th from the lowest index. 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’s behind Chesley’s grade
How sure: A less certain grade than most, because the figures belong to the nearest detachment, 38 km from Chesley, not to the town.
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: #120 of 862 in Ontario and #156 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 Chesley’s figures
Motor vehicle theft 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 | 4.7 | 0.2 | — |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 4 | 0.2 | — |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 0 | 0 | — |
| Robbery | 0.3 | 0.02 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 1 | 0.05 | — |
| Other violent violations | 4.3 | 0.2 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 33.7 | 1.5 | 17% |
| Possession of stolen property | 4.3 | 0.2 | — |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 20.3 | 0.9 | 13% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 11.3 | 0.5 | 9% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 79.7 | 3.6 | 10% |
| Mischief | 54.7 | 2.5 | 20% |
| Weapons violations | 7 | 0.3 | 53% |
| Administration of justice violations | 51.3 | 2.3 | 68% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 7.7 | 0.3 | 35% |
| Drug violations | 13.3 | 0.6 | 68% |
| Impaired driving | 27.7 | 1.2 | 99% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 7.7 | 0.3 | 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.
By its index, Chesley stands 6th of 40 towns its size
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Trent Lakes Ontario | 7,357 | 20.6 | 24.8 | A+ |
| 2 | Whitewater Region Ontario | 7,899 | 29.1 | 36.6 | A+ |
| 3 | Saint-Joseph-du-Lac Quebec | 7,391 | 30.8 | 56.8 | A+ |
| 4 | Bayham Ontario | 7,935 | 31.5 | 41.2 | A |
| 5 | Chatsworth Ontario | 7,770 | 32 | 38.1 | A |
| 6 | Chesley Ontario | 7,639 | 33.7 | 38.7 | A |
| 7 | Augusta Ontario | 7,767 | 34 | 40.2 | A |
| 8 | North Stormont Ontario | 7,946 | 36.9 | 47.2 | A |
| 9 | Saint-Lambert-de-Lauzon Quebec | 7,551 | 37.7 | 68.7 | A |
| … | |||||
| 14 | Minden Hills Ontario | 7,841 | 44.7 | 49.5 | A− |
| … | |||||
| 20 | Cardinal Ontario | 7,952 | 51.4 | 74.1 | B+ |
| … | |||||
| 40 | Bonnyville Alberta | 7,366 | 285.4 | 211.4 | 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 Chesley in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Around 150 violent incidents a year at the detachment nearest Chesley (22,400 residents), 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 290 property crimes, plus 150 other violations, a year (2023–2025 average). Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot, one incident a year at the area’s rates.
From 2023 to 2025, Chesley’s index held steady
Crime Severity Index
It closed on its heaviest year, 2025, at 34; the lightest was 2024, at 33.3. For the typical Canadian town its size, 2023 gave 74.3 and 2025 gave 64.2.
Every year as a table
| Year | Chesley | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 34 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 33.3 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 33.8 | 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 Chesley, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Crime in the places around Chesley
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chesley | 7,639 | 33.7 | 38.7 | A |
| Port Elgin (21 km) | 18,167 | 50.1 | 68.5 | B+ |
| Chatsworth (24 km) | 7,770 | 32 | 38.1 | A |
| Walkerton (26 km) | 10,811 | 47.4 | 56.9 | B+ |
| Hanover (27 km) | 8,723 | 91.9 | 108.3 | C |
| Owen Sound (27 km) | 24,075 | 110 | 154.9 | C− |
Chesley sits above 1 of the 5 neighbours with figures of their own. Closest is Chatsworth, 23.6 km away, at 32 to 33.7 here.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means. Chesley has few close neighbours with figures, so the list reaches 21–27 km out.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What clearance means. The clearance rate is the share of incidents police solve, by a charge or otherwise, weighted by seriousness like the index. It isn’t a conviction rate.
- An index, not a verdict. Police-reported incidents, each multiplied by a weight drawn from court sentences, summed and divided by the population: that is the index, and its makers attach a caution, “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.”
- The index’s scale. 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.
Questions about safety in Chesley
Is Chesley safe?
Its police recorded 6.8 violent incidents and 13 property crimes a year per 1,000 residents over 2023–2025, which gives Chesley a Crime Severity Index of 33.7. The middle of Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people is 68.5.
What is the most common crime in Chesley?
Top of the list is fraud (3.7 per 1,000 residents a year); theft under $5,000, at 3.6, and assault, at 3.5, follow.
Is crime going up in Chesley?
It held about level between 2023 and 2025, 33.8 to 34.
How much of Chesley’s crime do police solve?
Police solve 74% of violent crime and 23% of everything else, 40% overall once each crime is weighted by seriousness, against 34% for the typical Canadian town its size.
Whose figures are these?
A police service or detachment that covers Chesley and other places, so the figures are shared.
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).