Photo: Jfvoll · CC BY-SA 4.0Recorded crime per resident is lower in Howick than in 92% of Canadian towns
Its violent half comes to 39.3 and its non-violent half to 33.5, where the norm is 85.7 and 62.8. Annual rates stand at 6.2 violent incidents and 11.2 incidents of property crime for every thousand residents, next to 12.9 and 31.2 in the typical town its size. Scored on crime the police covering Howick reported across 2023 to 2025, the town lands on A for safety: #138 of 862 in Ontario. Add to that, in 2023 the index stood at 36.6; it fell to 32.9 in 2025.
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. Shared with the rest of the Huron (Huron/Wingham) detachment area: crime severity, crime rate and incident counts.
What stands out about safety in Howick
Lighter than Ontario’s middle
Howick’s index of 35 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, Howick places 5th from the lowest index. Towns its size ↓
Above-typical clearance
Police cleared 46% of Howick’s crime, weighted by seriousness (77% of violent crime, 30% of the rest), against 34% across Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people. Questions ↓
Written from Statistics Canada’s police-reported crime by police service and detachment, 2023–2025. Figures are what police recorded, not convictions.
The A for Howick, and how it is built
How sure: Less sure than most: the grade leans on the closest detachment, 18 km from Howick, since none reports under the town’s name.
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: #138 of 862 in Ontario and #174 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.
Howick’s crime by kind
Mischief 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 | 4.3 | 0.2 | — |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 2.3 | 0.10 | — |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 0 | 0 | — |
| Robbery | 1 | 0.04 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 2 | 0.09 | — |
| Other violent violations | 0.7 | 0.03 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 39.7 | 1.7 | 22% |
| Possession of stolen property | 3.3 | 0.1 | — |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 25.3 | 1.1 | 24% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 9.7 | 0.4 | 7% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 57 | 2.4 | 15% |
| Mischief | 43.7 | 1.9 | 21% |
| Weapons violations | 6.3 | 0.3 | 59% |
| Administration of justice violations | 58 | 2.5 | 73% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 8.7 | 0.4 | 54% |
| Drug violations | 8.3 | 0.4 | 88% |
| Impaired driving | 36.3 | 1.5 | 100% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 10 | 0.4 | 3% |
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.
Howick is 5th of 40 towns its size, lowest index first
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bowen Island British Columbia | 4,501 | 24.4 | 16.3 | A+ |
| 2 | Beresford New Brunswick | 4,389 | 25 | 35.4 | A+ |
| 3 | Montague Ontario | 4,414 | 30.8 | 39.6 | A+ |
| 4 | Dutton Ontario | 4,686 | 31.5 | 41.2 | A |
| 5 | Howick Ontario | 4,517 | 35 | 39.3 | A |
| 6 | Raymond Alberta | 4,594 | 36.6 | 46.2 | A |
| 7 | Warner County No. 5 Alberta | 4,533 | 36.6 | 46.2 | A |
| 8 | Deep River Ontario | 4,353 | 39.3 | 56 | A |
| … | |||||
| 12 | Highlands East Ontario | 4,372 | 44.7 | 49.5 | A− |
| … | |||||
| 15 | Casselman Ontario | 4,535 | 50.8 | 62.9 | B+ |
| … | |||||
| 33 | Prescott Ontario | 4,342 | 111.5 | 167.1 | C− |
| 34 | Bancroft Ontario | 4,331 | 121.5 | 153.2 | D |
| … | |||||
| 40 | Battleford Saskatchewan | 4,657 | 349.1 | 479.8 | 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 Howick in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
About 150 violent incidents a year in the area of the detachment nearest Howick (23,900 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.
Add about 260 property crimes and 170 other violations a year (2023–2025 average). The grid is 1,000 residents, a coloured dot for each incident a year at these rates.
Howick, year by year
Crime Severity Index
The first year, 2023, was the heaviest at 36.6, and 2025 the lightest at 32.9. The typical Canadian town its size went from 74.3 in 2023 to 64.2 in 2025.
Every year as a table
| Year | Howick | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 32.9 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 35.4 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 36.6 | 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 Howick, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Crime in the places around Howick
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Howick | 4,517 | 35 | 39.3 | A |
| Morris-Turnberry | 4,028 | 35 | 39.3 | A |
| Wingham | 5,411 | 52.3 | 65.1 | B+ |
| Palmerston | 10,029 | 29 | 28.2 | A+ |
Nearby, 1 of 2 places with their own figures have a lower index than Howick. The nearest of them, Palmerston (18.6 km away), scores 29 against 35. One neighbour reports through the same police, so its figure is this one and it isn’t compared.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 100 is Canada in 2006. Figures are relative to one fixed point, Canada in 2006 at 100, rather than to this year’s national number.
- Cleared, not convicted. A crime is cleared when police lay or recommend a charge, or solve it another way; the weighted rate counts serious crimes for more.
- What the index measures. 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.”
Questions about safety in Howick
Is Howick safe?
Averaged over 2023–2025, the Crime Severity Index for Howick comes to 35. Per 1,000 residents a year, police logged 6.2 violent incidents and 11.2 property crimes. In the middle of Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people the figure is 68.5.
What is the most common crime in Howick?
Fraud is the most common, at 3.5 per 1,000 residents a year, then Criminal Code traffic offences (3.4) and other Criminal Code offences (3.3).
Is crime going up in Howick?
Down 10%: 36.6 in 2023, 32.9 in 2025.
How much of Howick’s crime do police solve?
About 46% of crime is cleared, weighted by seriousness, with 77% of violent and 30% of other crime; the figure for the typical Canadian town its size is 34%.
Whose figures are these?
A shared service or detachment’s, reported as one for Howick and everywhere else it polices.
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).