Photo: Laslovarga · CC BY-SA 3.0Per resident, Freelton records about as much crime as the typical place among Canadian towns
In sum, crime its police reported from 2023 to 2025 put Freelton at B− (#519 of 862 in Ontario): close to the middle of Canadian towns. Even so, its Crime Severity Index dropped from 68.2 in 2023 to 62.2 by 2025. Recorded violent incidents ran at 11.7 per 1,000 residents a year and property crime at 31.2, against 10.8 and 25.1 in the typical Canadian town of 50,000+. Split in two, the index gives 85.7 for violence and 58.2 for everything else (normally 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. Area-wide: crime severity and crime rate, counted over the Hamilton service area.
Freelton: B− for safety, and why
How sure: Less sure than most. The grade rests on a figure for the whole city, so Freelton’s own streets could sit well above or below it.
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: #519 of 862 in Ontario and #1,018 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.
Which crimes make up Hamilton’s figures
These are Hamilton’s figures, for its police’s whole area: they aren’t published by neighbourhood.
Against the typical town its size, Hamilton runs highest on motor vehicle theft (3.1 per 1,000 against 1.7), assault (6.7 per 1,000 against 4.9) and theft under $5,000 (15 per 1,000 against 11.5).
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 10 | 0.02 | 83% |
| Sexual violations against children | 95 | 0.2 | 55% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 122.3 | 0.2 | 95% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 77.3 | 0.1 | 45% |
| Robbery | 380.7 | 0.6 | 36% |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 37 | 0.06 | 83% |
| Other violent violations | 117.7 | 0.2 | 50% |
| Breaking and entering | 1,695 | 2.7 | 22% |
| Possession of stolen property | 237.3 | 0.4 | 88% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 1,925.7 | 3.1 | 6% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 283.3 | 0.5 | 9% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 9,419.7 | 15 | 7% |
| Mischief | 2,898.7 | 4.6 | 14% |
| Weapons violations | 192 | 0.3 | 76% |
| Administration of justice violations | 2,806.3 | 4.5 | 93% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 216.7 | 0.3 | 46% |
| Drug violations | 821.7 | 1.3 | 73% |
| Impaired driving | 397 | 0.6 | 97% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 11.3 | 0.02 | 71% |
Statistics Canada’s violation groups for the whole police service or detachment: incidents a year are its own, the town’s share is only estimated in the tiles. 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.
Freelton, year by year
Crime Severity Index
The index started at its highest, 68.2 in 2023, and touched its lowest in 2025, at 62.2. Set beside it, the typical Canadian town of 50,000+ went from 64.3 in 2023 to 59.2 in 2025.
Every year as a table
| Year | Freelton | Typical town of 50,000+ |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 62.2 | 59.2 |
| 2024 | 66.7 | 59.9 |
| 2023 | 68.2 | 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 Freelton, each year, against the typical Canadian town of 50,000+.
Crime in the places around Freelton
6 neighbours are on the same police service or detachment: they share the figure and aren’t compared here.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The index’s scale. 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.
- What clearance means. A cleared case is one police consider solved. Whether anyone is convicted is a separate matter the rate doesn’t follow.
- An index, not a verdict. Each incident counts by its seriousness, judged from court sentences, and the total is set per resident. As Statistics Canada puts it, “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.”
- City-wide figures. No open data breaks the city’s crime down by neighbourhood, so Freelton carries the city-wide figures.
Questions about safety in Freelton
Is Freelton safe?
On Statistics Canada’s figures, Freelton scores 65.7 on the Crime Severity Index for 2023–2025, with 11.7 violent and 31.2 property incidents per 1,000 residents a year. For Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more, the typical index is 60.3.
What is the most common crime in Freelton?
Police record theft under $5,000 most, 15 per 1,000 residents a year, ahead of assault (6.7) and other Criminal Code offences (5.2).
Is crime going up in Freelton?
No: the index fell 9%, from 68.2 in 2023 to 62.2 in 2025.
How much of Freelton’s crime do police solve?
Police cleared 34% of crime once each incident is weighted by seriousness: 50% of violent crime and 24% of the rest, against 38% for the typical Canadian town of 50,000+.
Whose figures are these?
The city force’s, one set of figures for the city.
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).