Photo: Scott Webb scottwebb · CC0Recorded crime in Westminster is close to typical for Canadian towns
Violence accounts for an index of 86.4 and other offences for 63.8, against usual levels of 75.2 and 54.2. The index held steady between 2023 (70.6) and 2025 (73). Overall, it grades C+ for safety (#641 of 862 in Ontario). Even so, for every 1,000 residents, 10.5 violent incidents and 36.4 incidents of property crime were logged a year; in the typical Canadian town of 50,000+, the figures 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. Area-wide: crime severity and crime rate, counted over the London service area.
Westminster: C+ for safety, and why
How sure: A less certain grade than most: it reads the city’s overall figure, which can hide how Westminster 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: #641 of 862 in Ontario and #1,358 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.
London’s crime, type by type
These are London’s figures, for its police’s whole area: they aren’t published by neighbourhood.
Against the typical town its size, London runs highest on drug offences (1.9 per 1,000 against 0.9), robbery (0.7 per 1,000 against 0.4) and theft under $5,000 (21.4 per 1,000 against 11.5).
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 6.3 | 0.01 | 100% |
| Sexual violations against children | 117.7 | 0.2 | 39% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 171.7 | 0.4 | 99% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 40.3 | 0.08 | 60% |
| Robbery | 334 | 0.7 | 57% |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 68.3 | 0.1 | 98% |
| Other violent violations | 87.7 | 0.2 | 80% |
| Breaking and entering | 1,157.7 | 2.4 | 24% |
| Possession of stolen property | 153.7 | 0.3 | 82% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 929.7 | 1.9 | 13% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 291.3 | 0.6 | 8% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 10,420.3 | 21.4 | 19% |
| Mischief | 2,369.7 | 4.9 | 13% |
| Weapons violations | 210.7 | 0.4 | 47% |
| Administration of justice violations | 2,674 | 5.5 | 84% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 363 | 0.7 | 43% |
| Drug violations | 942 | 1.9 | 94% |
| Impaired driving | 484.3 | 1 | 96% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 973.7 | 2 | 5% |
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.
Westminster, year by year
Crime Severity Index
Its most recent year, 2025, was also its heaviest (73); the lightest was 2024 (65.8). The typical Canadian town of 50,000+ went from 64.3 in 2023 to 59.2 in 2025.
Every year as a table
| Year | Westminster | Typical town of 50,000+ |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 73 | 59.2 |
| 2024 | 65.8 | 59.9 |
| 2023 | 70.6 | 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 Westminster, each year, against the typical Canadian town of 50,000+.
Crime in the places around Westminster
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Westminster | 10,794 | 69.8 | 86.4 | C+ |
| Glen Cairn | 16,119 | 69.8 | 86.4 | C+ |
| White Oaks | 21,108 | 69.8 | 86.4 | C+ |
| Jackson | 8,124 | 69.8 | 86.4 | C+ |
| Highland | 19,963 | 69.8 | 86.4 | C+ |
| South London | 14,684 | 69.8 | 86.4 | C+ |
| Hamilton Road | 15,283 | 69.8 | 86.4 | C+ |
6 neighbours are on the same police service or detachment: they share the figure and aren’t compared here.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The index’s scale. Statistics Canada set the national index at 100 for 2006; every figure here is read against that.
- What clearance means. Cleared means solved by police, charged or not; it says nothing about what courts decide.
- An index, not a verdict. Statistics Canada, which publishes the index, attaches a caution: “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.” The number weighs each reported crime by its seriousness before dividing by residents.
- The whole city’s numbers. No open data breaks the city’s crime down by neighbourhood, so Westminster carries the city-wide figures.
Questions about safety in Westminster
Is Westminster safe?
On Statistics Canada’s figures, Westminster scores 69.8 on the Crime Severity Index for 2023–2025, with 10.5 violent and 36.4 property incidents per 1,000 residents a year. For Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more, the typical index is 60.3.
What is the most common crime in Westminster?
Top of the list is theft under $5,000 (21.4 per 1,000 residents a year); other Criminal Code offences, at 7.4, and assault, at 5.3, follow.
Is crime going up in Westminster?
Hardly at all, from 70.6 in 2023 to 73 in 2025.
How much of Westminster’s crime do police solve?
38%, by the weighted clearance rate, where the typical Canadian town of 50,000+ manages 38%. Violent crime is cleared at 61% and non-violent crime at 26%.
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).