Photo: Cindy Funk · CC BY 2.0Goderich is about average among Canadian towns for recorded crime
Each of the two towns on its borders with figures records less crime per resident. Goderich’s Crime Severity Index dropped from 69.6 in 2023 to 60.8 by 2025. Per 1,000 residents a year, 17.6 violent incidents and 25.1 incidents of property crime were recorded, against 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.
What stands out about safety in Goderich
More crime solved
Police cleared 52% of Goderich’s crime, weighted by seriousness (78% of violent crime, 34% of the rest), against 34% across Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people. Questions ↓
Sexual assault: high for a town its size
Goderich records 1.7 incidents of sexual assault per 1,000 residents a year, against 0.9 in the typical town among Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people. By type ↓
In the middle of towns its size
Of the 40 Canadian towns nearest it in size, Goderich places 23rd from the lowest index. Towns its size ↓
Above Ontario’s typical town
Goderich’s index of 68.4 compares with 56.2 for the typical town in Ontario. 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.
Goderich’s Safety Grade is B−
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: #632 of 862 in Ontario and #1,304 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.
Goderich’s crime by kind
Against the typical town its size, Goderich runs highest on sexual assault (1.7 per 1,000 against 0.9), mischief (6.9 per 1,000 against 4.9) and fraud (6.5 per 1,000 against 4.9). Theft under $5,000 and motor vehicle theft 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 | 0.6 | — |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 6.3 | 0.8 | 100% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 0.3 | 0.04 | — |
| Robbery | 1.7 | 0.2 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 1.7 | 0.2 | — |
| Other violent violations | 1 | 0.1 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 21 | 2.5 | 20% |
| Possession of stolen property | 1 | 0.1 | — |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 8 | 1 | 38% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 4.3 | 0.5 | — |
| Theft under $5,000 | 62 | 7.5 | 25% |
| Mischief | 57.3 | 6.9 | 23% |
| Weapons violations | 4.7 | 0.6 | — |
| Administration of justice violations | 86 | 10.4 | 82% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 5 | 0.6 | 34% |
| Drug violations | 5.3 | 0.6 | 75% |
| Impaired driving | 9.3 | 1.1 | 100% |
| 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.
Goderich, year by year
Crime Severity Index
The middle year, 2024, was the heaviest at 74.8; 2025 was lightest, at 60.8. For the typical Canadian town its size, 2023 gave 74.3 and 2025 gave 64.2.
Every year as a table
| Year | Goderich | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 60.8 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 74.8 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 69.6 | 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 Goderich, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
By its index, Goderich stands 23rd of 40 towns its size
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Douro-Dummer Ontario | 8,379 | 14.9 | 13.8 | A+ |
| 2 | Alnwick/Haldimand Ontario | 8,197 | 21.6 | 26.9 | A+ |
| 3 | Tavistock Ontario | 8,710 | 23.1 | 27.2 | A+ |
| 4 | Plattsville Ontario | 8,251 | 25.1 | 27.5 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 20 | St. Marys Ontario | 8,203 | 52.5 | 75.2 | B+ |
| 21 | La Malbaie Quebec | 8,293 | 57.2 | 83.8 | B |
| 22 | Lincoln New Brunswick | 8,093 | 63.2 | 81.9 | B− |
| 23 | Goderich Ontario | 8,412 | 68.4 | 100.1 | B− |
| 24 | Clinton Ontario | 8,318 | 72.5 | 106.8 | C+ |
| 25 | Beaubassin East / Beaubassin-est New Brunswick | 8,138 | 72.8 | 74.8 | C+ |
| 26 | Brownsburg-Chatham Quebec | 8,466 | 76.4 | 122.2 | C+ |
| … | |||||
| 40 | Iqaluit Nunavut | 8,612 | 661.3 | 844 | 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 Goderich in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Around 150 violent incidents a year on Goderich’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 210 property crimes, plus 120 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 Goderich
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goderich | 8,412 | 68.4 | 100.1 | B− |
| Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh | 7,052 | 35 | 39.3 | A |
| Clinton | 8,318 | 72.5 | 106.8 | C+ |
Nearby, 1 of 2 places with their own figures have a lower index than Goderich. Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh, 13.3 km away, is the nearest lower one, at 35 to 68.4.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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.
- Solved cases. A cleared case is one police consider solved. Whether anyone is convicted is a separate matter the rate doesn’t follow.
- 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.”
Questions about safety in Goderich
Is Goderich safe?
Statistics Canada puts Goderich at 68.4 on its Crime Severity Index over 2023–2025; Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people sit at 68.5 in the middle. Violent incidents run at 17.6 and property crimes at 25.1 per 1,000 residents a year.
What is the most common crime in Goderich?
Top of the list is other Criminal Code offences (12.4 per 1,000 residents a year); assault, at 8, and theft under $5,000, at 7.5, follow.
Is crime going up in Goderich?
It went down 13% between 2023 and 2025, from 69.6 to 60.8.
How much of Goderich’s crime do police solve?
About 52% of crime is cleared, weighted by seriousness, with 78% of violent and 34% of other crime; the figure for the typical Canadian town its size is 34%.
Whose figures are these?
A police service or contract that serves Goderich 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).