Laurentian West sits near the middle of Canadian towns for recorded crime
Against usual levels of 75.2 and 54.2, violent and non-violent offences here reach 89.7 and 65.4. Taking everything together, Laurentian West scores C+ (#680 of 862 in Ontario): close to the middle of Canadian towns, measured on crime its police reported between 2023 and 2025. Police counts work out at 14.2 violent incidents and 32.2 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents annually; in the typical Canadian town of 50,000+ they are 10.8 and 25.1.
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 for the Waterloo Region (Kitchener) service area.
What sits behind Laurentian West’s C+
How sure: Less sure than most. The grade rests on a figure for the whole city, so Laurentian West’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: #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.
Laurentian West’s index fell 12% from 2023 to 2025
Crime Severity Index
From 75.8 in 2023, its first and heaviest year, it eased to a low of 66.8 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 | Laurentian West | 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 Laurentian West, each year, against the typical Canadian town of 50,000+.
Waterloo Region (Kitchener)’s crime, type by type
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 robbery (0.5 per 1,000 against 0.4). Drug offences sits below it.
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 Laurentian West
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laurentian West | 16,857 | 71.9 | 89.7 | C+ |
| Laurentian Hills | 10,026 | 71.9 | 89.7 | C+ |
| Country Hills West | 5,936 | 71.9 | 89.7 | C+ |
| Forest Heights | 14,369 | 71.9 | 89.7 | C+ |
| Forest Hill | 5,760 | 71.9 | 89.7 | C+ |
| Rosenberg | 9,831 | 71.9 | 89.7 | C+ |
| Meinzinger Park-Lakeside | 5,007 | 71.9 | 89.7 | C+ |
The table leaves out 6 neighbours whose figure is this one, reported by the same police.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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.”
- The whole city’s numbers. Its city publishes no open neighbourhood crime figures, so every figure for Laurentian West is the city police’s, for the whole city.
- 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.
- The clearance rate. Weighted like the index, so solving one assault counts for more than solving a mischief; a charge laid, recommended or otherwise resolved all count.
Questions about safety in Laurentian West
Is Laurentian West safe?
On Statistics Canada’s figures, Laurentian West scores 71.9 on the Crime Severity Index for 2023–2025, with 14.2 violent and 32.2 property incidents per 1,000 residents a year. Across Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more, the median is 60.3.
What is the most common crime in Laurentian West?
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 Laurentian West?
It went down 12% between 2023 and 2025, from 75.8 to 66.8.
How much of Laurentian West’s crime do police solve?
32%, by the weighted clearance rate, where the typical Canadian town of 50,000+ manages 38%. Violent crime is cleared at 45% and non-violent crime at 25%.
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).