Photo: Town of Kirkland Lake · CC BY-SA 4.0More crimes per resident are recorded in Kirkland Lake than in 93% of Canadian towns
Split in two, the index gives 271.7 for violence and 130.9 for everything else (normally 85.7 and 62.8). Its Safety Grade is D, on crime the police covering Kirkland Lake reported from 2023 to 2025: #846 of 862 in Ontario. Recorded violent incidents ran at 34.9 per 1,000 residents a year and property crime at 46.8, 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 Kirkland Lake
Drug offences: high for a town its size
Kirkland Lake records 3.6 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 ↓
Higher than most of Ontario
Within Ontario, the median town comes to 56.2 on the index, against 170.1 in Kirkland Lake. Towns its size ↓
Above-typical clearance
For Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people the typical clearance rate is 34%; Kirkland Lake’s police clear 62%, 73% of violent crime and 55% of the rest. Questions ↓
Down since 2023
From 201 in 2023 to 143.1 in 2025: that is Kirkland Lake’s index, against 74.3 and 64.2 for the typical Canadian town its size. Year by year ↓
Written from Statistics Canada’s police-reported crime by police service and detachment, 2023–2025. Figures are what police recorded, not convictions.
Kirkland Lake: D for safety, and why
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: #846 of 862 in Ontario and #2,490 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.
What police record in Kirkland Lake, by type
Against the typical town its size, Kirkland Lake runs highest on drug offences (3.6 per 1,000 against 0.7), sexual assault (3 per 1,000 against 0.9) and assault (17.5 per 1,000 against 6.7). Motor vehicle theft sits below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 1.7 | 0.2 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 5 | 0.6 | 26% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 10 | 1.2 | 100% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 1.3 | 0.2 | — |
| Robbery | 4.3 | 0.5 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 0.7 | 0.08 | — |
| Other violent violations | 6.7 | 0.8 | 85% |
| Breaking and entering | 51.3 | 6.4 | 37% |
| Possession of stolen property | 2.3 | 0.3 | — |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 9.7 | 1.2 | 41% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 10.7 | 1.3 | 19% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 150.3 | 18.6 | 42% |
| Mischief | 70 | 8.7 | 45% |
| Weapons violations | 10 | 1.2 | 83% |
| Administration of justice violations | 315 | 39 | 96% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 9.7 | 1.2 | 75% |
| Drug violations | 29 | 3.6 | 83% |
| Impaired driving | 13 | 1.6 | 98% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 0.7 | 0.08 | — |
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.
Year by year in Kirkland Lake: down 29%, 2023 to 2025
Crime Severity Index
Its highest year was 2023, at 201, and its lowest 2025, at 143.1. The typical Canadian town its size went from 74.3 in 2023 to 64.2 in 2025.
Every year as a table
| Year | Kirkland Lake | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 143.1 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 166.2 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 201 | 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 Kirkland Lake, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Kirkland Lake comes 38th of the 40 towns nearest in 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 | Plattsville Ontario | 8,251 | 25.1 | 27.5 | A+ |
| 4 | Otonabee-South Monaghan Ontario | 8,084 | 26 | 27.2 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 35 | Drumheller Alberta | 8,439 | 101.2 | 101.9 | C− |
| 36 | Rocky Mountain House Alberta | 8,144 | 140.9 | 159.2 | D |
| 37 | Drayton Valley Alberta | 8,047 | 152.4 | 156.3 | D |
| 38 | Kirkland Lake Ontario | 8,158 | 170.1 | 271.7 | D |
| 39 | Ponoka Alberta | 8,212 | 170.5 | 210.6 | D |
| 40 | Happy Valley-Goose Bay Newfoundland and Labrador | 8,197 | 360 | 345 | 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 Kirkland Lake in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Police in Kirkland Lake recorded about 280 violent incidents a year, 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 380 property crimes and 400 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 Kirkland Lake
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kirkland Lake | 8,158 | 170.1 | 271.7 | D |
| Timiskaming, Unorganized, West Part (24 km) | 3,606 | 97.4 | 171.6 | C− |
| Englehart (38 km) | 1,559 | 97.4 | 171.6 | C− |
| Black River-Matheson (50 km) | 2,899 | 97.4 | 171.6 | C− |
Each neighbour with its own figure comes in under Kirkland Lake. Timiskaming, Unorganized, West Part, 24 km away, is the nearest lower one, at 97.4 to 170.1.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means. Kirkland Lake has few close neighbours with figures, so the list reaches 24–50 km out.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Solved cases. Weighted like the index, so solving one assault counts for more than solving a mischief; a charge laid, recommended or otherwise resolved all count.
- 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.”
- Reading the number. Canada’s own index has been below its 2006 base of 100 for years, so 100 marks a fixed reference, not today’s national average.
Questions about safety in Kirkland Lake
Is Kirkland Lake safe?
Kirkland Lake’s Crime Severity Index is 170.1 (2023–2025 mean); its police record 34.9 violent incidents and 46.8 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year. The middle of Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people is 68.5.
What is the most common crime in Kirkland Lake?
Police record other Criminal Code offences most, 42.7 per 1,000 residents a year, ahead of theft under $5,000 (18.6) and assault (17.5).
Is crime going up in Kirkland Lake?
The reverse: 201 in 2023 came down to 143.1 by 2025, 29% lower.
How much of Kirkland Lake’s crime do police solve?
Counting serious crimes for more, 62% end in a charge or are otherwise solved (34% for the typical Canadian town its size); split up, that is 73% of violent and 55% of non-violent crime.
Whose figures are these?
A police service or contract that serves Kirkland Lake 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).