Photo: Martin Cathrae from Charlottetown, PE, Canada · CC BY-SA 2.0Merrickville sees less crime per resident than nine in ten Canadian towns
Out of every 1,000 residents, 5.8 violent incidents and 14.8 incidents of property crime are reported annually, against 12.9 and 31.2 in the typical town its size. Violence accounts for an index of 36.4 and other offences for 35.1, against usual levels of 85.7 and 62.8. On the record of crime the police covering Merrickville reported from 2023 to 2025, it takes A for safety: #150 of 862 in Ontario.
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 Merrickville
Lighter than Ontario’s middle
Within Ontario, the median town comes to 56.2 on the index, against 35.2 in Merrickville. Towns its size ↓
A lower index than most towns its size
Line up the 40 Canadian towns nearest in size by their index and Merrickville stands 5th, the lowest first. Towns its size ↓
A high clearance rate
For Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people the typical clearance rate is 34%; Merrickville’s police clear 44%, 140% of violent crime and 15% of the rest. Questions ↓
Written from Statistics Canada’s police-reported crime by police service and detachment, 2023–2025. Figures are what police recorded, not convictions.
What’s behind Merrickville’s grade
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: #150 of 862 in Ontario and #192 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 Merrickville, by type
Assault 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 | 0.3 | 0.10 | — |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 0.7 | 0.2 | — |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 0 | 0 | — |
| Robbery | 0.7 | 0.2 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 0 | 0 | — |
| Other violent violations | 0 | 0 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 8.3 | 2.4 | 12% |
| Possession of stolen property | 0.7 | 0.2 | — |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 3 | 0.9 | — |
| Theft over $5,000 | 3 | 0.9 | — |
| Theft under $5,000 | 10.7 | 3.1 | 12% |
| Mischief | 8.7 | 2.5 | 15% |
| Weapons violations | 0.7 | 0.2 | — |
| Administration of justice violations | 4.3 | 1.3 | — |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 2 | 0.6 | — |
| Drug violations | 0.3 | 0.10 | — |
| Impaired driving | 4.3 | 1.3 | — |
| Failing to stop or remain | 0 | 0 | — |
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.
By its index, Merrickville stands 5th of 40 towns its size
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saint-Gabriel-de-Valcartier Quebec | 3,400 | 28.2 | 46.7 | A+ |
| 2 | North Kawartha Ontario | 3,355 | 28.5 | 38.1 | A+ |
| 3 | Shuniah Ontario | 3,458 | 29.8 | 60 | A+ |
| 4 | Wellington New Brunswick | 3,458 | 34.5 | 31.3 | A |
| 5 | Merrickville Ontario | 3,411 | 35.2 | 36.4 | A |
| 6 | Saint-Jean-Baptiste Quebec | 3,332 | 37.1 | 58.5 | A |
| 7 | Saint-Jean-Port-Joli Quebec | 3,330 | 43.7 | 73 | A− |
| 8 | Compton Quebec | 3,351 | 44.5 | 81.6 | A− |
| … | |||||
| 25 | Sables-Spanish Rivers Ontario | 3,412 | 81.9 | 109 | C |
| … | |||||
| 40 | Inuvik Northwest Territories | 3,337 | 718.3 | 807.9 | 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 Merrickville in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Merrickville’s police: about 20 violent incidents a year over 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.
And about 50 property crimes, plus 14 other violations, a year (2023–2025 average). Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot, one incident a year at the area’s rates.
Three years of Merrickville’s crime index
Crime Severity Index
Nothing since 2023 has matched that year’s 47.3; the lightest was 2024, at 28.9. The comparison line, the typical Canadian town its size, runs from 74.3 in 2023 to 64.2 by 2025.
Every year as a table
| Year | Merrickville | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 29.5 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 28.9 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 47.3 | 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 Merrickville, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Crime in the places around Merrickville
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Merrickville | 3,411 | 35.2 | 36.4 | A |
| Montague | 4,414 | 30.8 | 39.6 | A+ |
| Smiths Falls | 11,093 | 105.1 | 147.6 | C− |
Of 2 places nearby with their own figures, 1 come in under Merrickville. Montague, 11.9 km away, is the nearest lower one, at 30.8 to 35.2.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- How serious, not how safe. One robbery outweighs a run of minor thefts here, since every crime counts by the sentences courts give it. Statistics Canada adds: “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.”
- Small numbers. With roughly 3,411 residents in its police area, a few cases swing the figures. In Statistics Canada’s words, “Data for police services or detachments with populations less than 5,000 should be used with caution.”
- 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.
- Solved cases. 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.
Questions about safety in Merrickville
Is Merrickville safe?
Averaged over 2023–2025, the Crime Severity Index for Merrickville comes to 35.2. Per 1,000 residents a year, police logged 5.8 violent incidents and 14.8 property crimes. The typical figure for Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people is 68.5.
What is the most common crime in Merrickville?
Most often it is fraud: 4.6 per 1,000 residents a year. Next come theft under $5,000 at 3.1 and assault at 2.7.
Is crime going up in Merrickville?
Over 2023–2025 the index dropped 38%, to 29.5 from 47.3. A small or partial count makes this change uncertain.
How much of Merrickville’s crime do police solve?
44%, by the weighted clearance rate, where the typical Canadian town its size manages 34%. Violent crime is cleared at 140% and non-violent crime at 15%.
Whose figures are these?
They are Merrickville’s own: its police cover the town and no other.
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).