Lakeshore is about average among Canadian towns for recorded crime
In sum, crime its police reported from 2023 to 2025 put Lakeshore at B− (#519 of 862 in Ontario): close to the middle of Canadian towns. Between 2023 and 2025 the severity figure fell, 68.2 to 62.2. The yearly rates were 11.7 violent incidents and 31.2 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents, set against 10.8 and 25.1 in the typical Canadian town of 50,000+. Against usual levels of 75.2 and 54.2, violent and non-violent offences here reach 85.7 and 58.2.
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. Data for crime severity and crime rate covers the Hamilton service area.
The B− for Lakeshore, and how it is built
How sure: Not as firm as most grades, since the figure covers the entire city rather than Lakeshore alone.
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.
Lakeshore, year by year
Crime Severity Index
From 68.2 in 2023, its first and heaviest year, it eased to a low of 62.2 in 2025. Over 2023–2025, the typical Canadian town of 50,000+ moved from 64.3 to 59.2.
Every year as a table
| Year | Lakeshore | 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 Lakeshore, each year, against the typical Canadian town of 50,000+.
Crime in the places around Lakeshore
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lakeshore | 3,127 | 65.7 | 85.7 | B− |
| Eastdale | 2,703 | 65.7 | 85.7 | B− |
| Poplar Park | 3,031 | 65.7 | 85.7 | B− |
| Guernsey | 3,808 | 65.7 | 85.7 | B− |
| Riverdale East | 3,416 | 65.7 | 85.7 | B− |
| Westmeria | 2,646 | 65.7 | 85.7 | B− |
| Highway Valley | 4,469 | 65.7 | 85.7 | B− |
The comparison skips 6 neighbours reported under the same police.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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. 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.”
- City-wide figures. The figures for Lakeshore are city-wide: neighbourhood counts aren’t published as open data here.
- The index’s scale. Figures are relative to one fixed point, Canada in 2006 at 100, rather than to this year’s national number.
Questions about safety in Lakeshore
Is Lakeshore safe?
Against a typical 60.3 for Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more, Lakeshore’s Crime Severity Index stands at 65.7 for 2023–2025. Its police record 11.7 violent incidents and 31.2 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year.
What is the most common crime in Lakeshore?
Top of the list is theft under $5,000 (15 per 1,000 residents a year); assault, at 6.7, and other Criminal Code offences, at 5.2, follow.
Is crime going up in Lakeshore?
Over 2023–2025 the index dropped 9%, to 62.2 from 68.2.
How much of Lakeshore’s crime do police solve?
Counting serious crimes for more, 34% end in a charge or are otherwise solved (38% for the typical Canadian town of 50,000+); split up, that is 50% of violent and 24% of non-violent crime.
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).