Photo: Bio2935 · CC BY-SA 4.0Crime per resident in Norwich runs lower than in 94% of Canadian towns
Its violent half comes to 27.6 and its non-violent half to 33.3, where the norm is 89.4 and 56. The yearly rates were 5.8 violent incidents and 14.0 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents, set against 12.0 and 30.5 in the typical town its size. What’s more, on crime the police covering Norwich reported from 2023 to 2025, it grades A for safety: #100 of 862 in Ontario. Between 2023 and 2025 the severity figure fell, 32.8 to 30.2.
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 Norwich
Under the Ontario norm
Within Ontario, the median town comes to 56.2 on the index, against 31.5 in Norwich. Towns its size ↓
Heavier on property and other crime
Violent crime scores 27.6 on Norwich’s index against 89.4 for the typical Canadian town its size; non-violent crime, 33.3 against 56. By type ↓
A lower index than most towns its size
Line up the 40 Canadian towns nearest in size by their index and Norwich stands 5th, the lowest first. Towns its size ↓
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 Norwich’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: #100 of 862 in Ontario and #134 of 2,572 Canadian towns.
The Crime Severity Index and its two halves, beside the typical figure for Canadian towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people.
Which crimes make up Norwich’s figures
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 | 1.7 | 0.1 | — |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 0.7 | 0.05 | — |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 0 | 0 | — |
| Robbery | 0.3 | 0.03 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 2 | 0.2 | — |
| Other violent violations | 0.3 | 0.03 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 23.7 | 1.9 | 3% |
| Possession of stolen property | 1.7 | 0.1 | — |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 24 | 2 | 10% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 8.3 | 0.7 | 8% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 40 | 3.3 | 3% |
| Mischief | 29 | 2.4 | 16% |
| Weapons violations | 1.7 | 0.1 | — |
| Administration of justice violations | 15.3 | 1.3 | 76% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 4 | 0.3 | — |
| Drug violations | 1 | 0.08 | — |
| Impaired driving | 10.3 | 0.8 | 100% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 1.3 | 0.1 | — |
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 10,000 to 50,000 people.
By its index, Norwich stands 5th of 40 towns its size
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rothesay New Brunswick | 12,626 | 20 | 27.9 | A+ |
| 2 | Hamilton Ontario | 11,810 | 25.7 | 30.4 | A+ |
| 3 | Georgian Bluffs Ontario | 12,061 | 29.2 | 35.4 | A+ |
| 4 | Cantley Quebec | 12,291 | 29.4 | 51.6 | A+ |
| 5 | Norwich Ontario | 12,321 | 31.5 | 27.6 | A |
| 6 | Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine Quebec | 12,427 | 32.2 | 50.9 | A |
| 7 | Adjala-Tosorontio Ontario | 11,948 | 33.2 | 50.9 | A |
| 8 | Tay Ontario | 11,968 | 34.3 | 46.4 | A |
| 9 | Winchester Ontario | 12,706 | 36.9 | 47.2 | A |
| 10 | Morrisburg Ontario | 11,943 | 36.9 | 47.2 | A |
| … | |||||
| 16 | Grey Highlands Ontario | 12,148 | 39.7 | 47.7 | A |
| … | |||||
| 18 | Meaford Ontario | 12,652 | 42.7 | 45.3 | A− |
| … | |||||
| 40 | Clearwater County Alberta | 11,856 | 188.3 | 342.3 | 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 Norwich in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Norwich’s police: about 70 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.
Property crime adds about 170 a year and other violations 51 (2023–2025 average). Of 1,000 dots, one per resident, the coloured ones are a year’s incidents at these rates.
Norwich, year by year
Crime Severity Index
Its heaviest year came first: 2023, at 32.8, against a low of 30.2 in 2025. The typical Canadian town its size went from 69.5 in 2023 to 60 in 2025.
Every year as a table
| Year | Norwich | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 30.2 | 60 |
| 2024 | 31.5 | 67.9 |
| 2023 | 32.8 | 69.5 |
Statistics Canada, Crime Severity Index by police service, each year as published. Typical: the median of Canadian towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people.
The Crime Severity Index of the police covering Norwich, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Crime in the places around Norwich
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norwich | 12,321 | 31.5 | 27.6 | A |
| South-West Oxford | 8,375 | 34.5 | 42.9 | A |
| Tillsonburg | 21,450 | 54.1 | 63.3 | B |
Each neighbour with its own figure comes in over Norwich.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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.
- Severity, weighed. Police-reported incidents, each multiplied by a weight drawn from court sentences, summed and divided by the population: that is the index, and its makers attach a caution, “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.”
- 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 Norwich
Is Norwich safe?
Its police recorded 5.8 violent incidents and 14 property crimes a year per 1,000 residents over 2023–2025, which gives Norwich a Crime Severity Index of 31.5. For Canadian towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, the typical index is 66.
What is the most common crime in Norwich?
The three biggest groups are fraud at 3.6, theft under $5,000 at 3.3 and assault at 2.5, each per 1,000 residents a year.
Is crime going up in Norwich?
No: the index fell 8%, from 32.8 in 2023 to 30.2 in 2025.
How much of Norwich’s crime do police solve?
34%, by the weighted clearance rate, where the typical Canadian town its size manages 33%. Violent crime is cleared at 88% and non-violent crime at 17%.
Whose figures are these?
They are Norwich’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).