Photo: P199 · CC BY-SA 3.0Per resident, North Kawartha records less crime than 97% of Canadian towns
Counting crime the police covering North Kawartha reported from 2023 to 2025, it grades A+ for safety: #64 of 862 in Ontario. Against usual levels of 85.7 and 62.8, violent and non-violent offences here reach 38.1 and 24.9. Per 1,000 residents a year, 4.7 violent incidents and 8.8 incidents of property crime were recorded, 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 North Kawartha
A busy place, counted per resident
About 63% of North Kawartha’s homes are cottages, second homes or otherwise empty much of the year: crime in the busy months is divided by year-round residents only, which lifts every rate here. How to read it ↓
Lower than most of Ontario
North Kawartha’s index of 28.5 compares with 56.2 for the typical town in Ontario. Towns its size ↓
A lower index than most towns its size
Of the 40 Canadian towns nearest it in size, North Kawartha places 2nd from the lowest index. Towns its size ↓
A high clearance rate
The weighted clearance rate, the share of crime police solve, is 49% for North Kawartha (89% violent, 28% non-violent), beside 34% for Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people. Questions ↓
Written from Statistics Canada’s police-reported crime by police service and detachment, 2023–2025. Figures are what police recorded, not convictions.
North Kawartha: A+ 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: #64 of 862 in Ontario and #72 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.
Crime in North Kawartha, type by type
Mischief and assault sit below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0 | 0 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 0.7 | 0.2 | — |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 0 | 0 | — |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 0 | 0 | — |
| Robbery | 0 | 0 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 0.3 | 0.1 | — |
| Other violent violations | 0.3 | 0.10 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 5.7 | 1.7 | 18% |
| Possession of stolen property | 0.3 | 0.1 | — |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 1.7 | 0.5 | — |
| Theft over $5,000 | 1 | 0.3 | — |
| Theft under $5,000 | 4.3 | 1.3 | — |
| Mischief | 6.3 | 1.9 | 11% |
| Weapons violations | 1.7 | 0.5 | — |
| Administration of justice violations | 6 | 1.8 | 67% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 0.3 | 0.10 | — |
| Drug violations | 0.3 | 0.1 | — |
| Impaired driving | 2.7 | 0.8 | — |
| 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.
North Kawartha comes 2nd of the 40 towns nearest in 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 | Merrickville Ontario | 3,411 | 35.2 | 36.4 | A |
| 4 | Saint-Jean-Baptiste Quebec | 3,332 | 37.1 | 58.5 | A |
| 5 | North Algona Wilberforce Ontario | 3,290 | 41.5 | 77.6 | A− |
| … | |||||
| 24 | 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 North Kawartha in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
About 15 violent incidents a year reached North Kawartha’s police, 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 29 property crimes, plus 13 other violations, a year (2023–2025 average). Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot, one incident a year at the area’s rates.
The index in North Kawartha, each year
Crime Severity Index
It rose to 38 in 2024 before easing, with the low of 16.3 in 2023. For the typical Canadian town its size, 2023 gave 74.3 and 2025 gave 64.2.
Every year as a table
| Year | North Kawartha | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 31.1 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 38 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 16.3 | 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 North Kawartha, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Crime in the places around North Kawartha
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Kawartha | 3,355 | 28.5 | 38.1 | A+ |
| Trent Lakes (26 km) | 7,357 | 20.6 | 24.8 | A+ |
| Douro-Dummer (29 km) | 8,379 | 14.9 | 13.8 | A+ |
| Bridgenorth (33 km) | 20,628 | 21.2 | 23.1 | A+ |
| Havelock (34 km) | 5,663 | 29.2 | 33.7 | A+ |
| Norwood (36 km) | 5,308 | 25.2 | 31.4 | A+ |
4 of the 5 neighbours with their own figures score lower than North Kawartha. The nearest of them, Trent Lakes (26.1 km away), scores 20.6 against 28.5.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means. No closer places have figures: these lie 26–36 km from North Kawartha.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What the index measures. The Crime Severity Index adds up police-reported crime, each kind weighted by the sentences courts give it, so one robbery counts for more than many thefts. In Statistics Canada’s words, “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.”
- Small numbers. About 3,355 people live in the area these figures cover; at that size one bad year shows up large. Statistics Canada says: “Data for police services or detachments with populations less than 5,000 should be used with caution.”
- 100 is Canada in 2006. Figures are relative to one fixed point, Canada in 2006 at 100, rather than to this year’s national number.
- Cleared, not convicted. Cleared means solved by police, charged or not; it says nothing about what courts decide.
Questions about safety in North Kawartha
Is North Kawartha safe?
Averaged over 2023–2025, the Crime Severity Index for North Kawartha comes to 28.5. Per 1,000 residents a year, police logged 4.7 violent incidents and 8.8 property crimes. Across Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, the median is 68.5.
What is the most common crime in North Kawartha?
Police record other Criminal Code offences most, 2.8 per 1,000 residents a year, ahead of fraud (2.8) and assault (2.2).
Is crime going up in North Kawartha?
It has: 16.3 in 2023 became 31.1 by 2025, a rise of 91%. With few people or missing years behind it, the change is a rough one.
How much of North Kawartha’s crime do police solve?
About 49% of crime is cleared, weighted by seriousness, with 89% of violent and 28% of other crime; the figure for the typical Canadian town its size is 34%.
Whose figures are these?
A police service or contract that serves North Kawartha 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).