Recorded crime in Forest Hill is close to typical for Canadian towns
Of the two halves, violence comes to 89.7 and other offences to 65.4, beside norms of 75.2 and 54.2. Behind the grade sit 14.2 violent incidents and 32.2 incidents of property crime per 1,000 people a year, where the comparison is 10.8 and 25.1 in the typical Canadian town of 50,000+. In sum, crime its police reported from 2023 to 2025 put Forest Hill at C+ (#680 of 862 in Ontario): close to the middle of Canadian towns. Even so, between 2023 and 2025 the severity figure fell, 75.8 to 66.8.
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. Crime severity and crime rate published for the Waterloo Region (Kitchener) service area, not by town.
Inside Forest Hill’s C+ for safety
How sure: A less certain grade than most: it reads the city’s overall figure, which can hide how Forest Hill itself compares.
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: #680 of 862 in Ontario and #1,466 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.
Forest Hill, year by year
Crime Severity Index
From 75.8 in 2023, its first and heaviest year, it eased to a low of 66.8 in 2025. For the typical Canadian town of 50,000+, 2023 gave 64.3 and 2025 gave 59.2.
Every year as a table
| Year | Forest Hill | Typical town of 50,000+ |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 66.8 | 59.2 |
| 2024 | 73.1 | 59.9 |
| 2023 | 75.8 | 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 Forest Hill, each year, against the typical Canadian town of 50,000+.
Which crimes make up Waterloo Region (Kitchener)’s figures
These are Waterloo Region (Kitchener)’s figures, for its police’s whole area: they aren’t published by neighbourhood.
Against the typical town its size, Waterloo Region (Kitchener) runs highest on assault (7.7 per 1,000 against 4.9), fraud (7.6 per 1,000 against 5) and break and enter (3 per 1,000 against 2.2).
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 4.7 | 0.01 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 227.7 | 0.3 | 39% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 143.3 | 0.2 | 98% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 69 | 0.10 | 52% |
| Robbery | 362.3 | 0.5 | 50% |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 120.3 | 0.2 | 69% |
| Other violent violations | 165.7 | 0.2 | 40% |
| Breaking and entering | 2,068.3 | 3 | 22% |
| Possession of stolen property | 715 | 1 | 30% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 1,197 | 1.7 | 13% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 290.7 | 0.4 | 11% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 9,915.7 | 14.2 | 18% |
| Mischief | 2,902.3 | 4.2 | 21% |
| Weapons violations | 339 | 0.5 | 53% |
| Administration of justice violations | 3,165.7 | 4.5 | 90% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 741.7 | 1.1 | 32% |
| Drug violations | 374.7 | 0.5 | 90% |
| Impaired driving | 414.7 | 0.6 | 94% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 67.7 | 0.10 | 74% |
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.
Crime in the places around Forest Hill
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forest Hill | 5,760 | 71.9 | 89.7 | C+ |
| Meinzinger Park-Lakeside | 5,007 | 71.9 | 89.7 | C+ |
| Laurentian Hills | 10,026 | 71.9 | 89.7 | C+ |
| Victoria Hills | 10,760 | 71.9 | 89.7 | C+ |
| Forest Heights | 14,369 | 71.9 | 89.7 | C+ |
| Victoria Park | 3,574 | 71.9 | 89.7 | C+ |
| Southdale | 5,277 | 71.9 | 89.7 | C+ |
Sharing its police with 6 neighbours, it shares their figure as well, so they aren’t compared.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The clearance rate. The clearance rate is the share of incidents police solve, by a charge or otherwise, weighted by seriousness like the index. It isn’t a conviction rate.
- Severity, weighed. 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. No open data breaks the city’s crime down by neighbourhood, so Forest Hill carries the city-wide figures.
- What 100 means. Its scale starts from Canada in 2006, set at 100, so a figure above 100 means more serious crime per resident than the country had then.
Questions about safety in Forest Hill
Is Forest Hill safe?
With 14.2 violent incidents and 32.2 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, Forest Hill comes to 71.9 on the Crime Severity Index (2023–2025); Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more have a median of 60.3.
What is the most common crime in Forest Hill?
Top of the list is theft under $5,000 (14.2 per 1,000 residents a year); assault, at 7.7, and fraud, at 7.6, follow.
Is crime going up in Forest Hill?
Down 12%: 75.8 in 2023, 66.8 in 2025.
How much of Forest Hill’s crime do police solve?
Weighted by seriousness, police cleared 32% of crime (45% of violent crime, 25% of the rest). The typical Canadian town of 50,000+ clears 38%.
Whose figures are these?
Those of the police service that covers the whole 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).