Photo: P199 · CC BY-SA 2.5Espanola sees more crime per resident than 74% of Canadian towns
In 2023 the index stood at 110.3; it fell to 87.1 in 2025. By contrast, on crime the police covering Espanola reported from 2023 to 2025, it grades C for safety: #793 of 862 in Ontario. Per 1,000 residents a year, 20.0 violent incidents and 25.4 incidents of property crime were recorded, against 12.9 and 31.2 in the typical town its size. Split in two, the index gives 123.8 for violence and 78.1 for everything else (normally 85.7 and 62.8).
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 Espanola
Drug offences: high for a town its size
Espanola records 4.4 incidents of drug offences per 1,000 residents a year, against 0.7 in the typical town among Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people. By type ↓
A high clearance rate
Weighted by seriousness, 67% of crime in Espanola ends in a charge or is otherwise solved: 81% of violent crime and 57% of the rest. Across Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people the figure is 34%. Questions ↓
Higher than most of Ontario
Set among Ontario’s towns, whose median is 56.2, Espanola scores 90.6. Towns its size ↓
A higher index than most towns its size
Counting up from the lowest index, Espanola is 33rd of the 40 Canadian towns closest in population. 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.
The grade: C for Espanola
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: #793 of 862 in Ontario and #1,813 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 Espanola’s figures
Against the typical town its size, Espanola runs highest on drug offences (4.4 per 1,000 against 0.7), assault (10.2 per 1,000 against 6.7) and break and enter (3.8 per 1,000 against 2.8). Theft under $5,000 sits below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0.3 | 0.06 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 1.3 | 0.2 | — |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 3.3 | 0.6 | — |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 0 | 0 | — |
| Robbery | 1 | 0.2 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 1.7 | 0.3 | — |
| Other violent violations | 1 | 0.2 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 20.7 | 3.8 | 47% |
| Possession of stolen property | 1.3 | 0.2 | — |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 2.7 | 0.5 | — |
| Theft over $5,000 | 2.3 | 0.4 | — |
| Theft under $5,000 | 53.3 | 9.7 | 26% |
| Mischief | 23.7 | 4.3 | 30% |
| Weapons violations | 4.7 | 0.8 | — |
| Administration of justice violations | 61.3 | 11.2 | 88% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 5 | 0.9 | 74% |
| Drug violations | 24 | 4.4 | 95% |
| Impaired driving | 22 | 4 | 99% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 1.3 | 0.2 | — |
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.
Espanola, year by year
Crime Severity Index
Its heaviest year came first: 2023, at 110.3, against a low of 74.5 in 2024. In the same years the typical Canadian town its size read 74.3 (2023), then 64.2 (2025).
Every year as a table
| Year | Espanola | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 87.1 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 74.5 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 110.3 | 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 Espanola, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
By its index, Espanola stands 33rd of 40 towns its size
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Norwood Ontario | 5,308 | 25.2 | 31.4 | A+ |
| 2 | Havelock Ontario | 5,663 | 29.2 | 33.7 | A+ |
| 3 | Stirling Ontario | 5,489 | 30.8 | 33.2 | A+ |
| 4 | West Lorne Ontario | 5,566 | 31.5 | 41.2 | A |
| … | |||||
| 30 | Armstrong British Columbia | 5,643 | 73.6 | 83.6 | C+ |
| 31 | Central Frontenac Ontario | 5,348 | 78.4 | 112.5 | C+ |
| 32 | Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue Quebec | 5,393 | 80.3 | 115.7 | C |
| 33 | Espanola Ontario | 5,504 | 90.6 | 123.8 | C |
| 34 | Annapolis County, Subdivision C Nova Scotia | 5,694 | 96 | 107.6 | C− |
| 35 | Deer Lake Newfoundland and Labrador | 5,319 | 96.2 | 98.9 | C− |
| 36 | Chisasibi Quebec | 5,382 | 103.6 | 197.1 | C− |
| … | |||||
| 40 | The Pas Manitoba | 5,634 | 572.1 | 753.3 | 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 Espanola in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Around 110 violent incidents a year on Espanola’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.
Add about 140 property crimes and 130 other violations a year (2023–2025 average). The grid is 1,000 residents, a coloured dot for each incident a year at these rates.
Crime in the places around Espanola
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Espanola | 5,504 | 90.6 | 123.8 | C |
| Sables-Spanish Rivers (18 km) | 3,412 | 81.9 | 109 | C |
| Little Current (33 km) | 2,764 | 81.9 | 109 | C |
| Wikwemikong Unceded (51 km) | 2,875 | 583.1 | 762.6 | D− |
| Assiginack (56 km) | 1,137 | 81.9 | 109 | C |
| Central Manitoulin (67 km) | 2,386 | 81.9 | 109 | C |
Espanola sits above 4 of the 5 neighbours with figures of their own. Just 18 km away, Sables-Spanish Rivers comes to 81.9, against 90.6.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means. Distances here run 18–67 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Espanola.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The clearance rate. Police clear an incident by charging someone, recommending a charge, or closing it another way. The rate weighs serious crimes more, as the index does.
- 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. A reading of 100 is the whole country in 2006. Half of that, 50, means half the severity per resident.
Questions about safety in Espanola
Is Espanola safe?
Against a typical 68.5 for Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, Espanola’s Crime Severity Index stands at 90.6 for 2023–2025. Its police record 20 violent incidents and 25.4 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year.
What is the most common crime in Espanola?
Police record other Criminal Code offences most, 13.2 per 1,000 residents a year, ahead of assault (10.2) and theft under $5,000 (9.7).
Is crime going up in Espanola?
No: the index fell 21%, from 110.3 in 2023 to 87.1 in 2025.
How much of Espanola’s crime do police solve?
Weighted by seriousness, police cleared 67% of crime (81% of violent crime, 57% of the rest). The typical Canadian town its size clears 34%.
Whose figures are these?
Its own police: the service or contract that covers Espanola 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).