Alta Vista records less crime per resident than 63% of Canadian towns
Between 2023 and 2025 the severity figure fell, 55.8 to 52.2. On top of that, the index that weighs each crime by its seriousness comes to 54.7 here (2023–2025 mean), and to 60.3 for the typical Canadian town of 50,000+. That puts it at B for safety, judged on crime the police covering Alta Vista reported from 2023 to 2025: #364 of 862 in Ontario. Each year brought 35.8 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents (20.6 in the typical Ottawa neighbourhood).
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 Ottawa service area.
The B for Alta Vista, and how it is built
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: #364 of 862 in Ontario and #691 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.
Where Alta Vista sits within Ottawa
Violent crime per 1,000 a year
Property crime per 1,000 a year
Counting up from the quietest, Alta Vista stands 64th of 103 in Ottawa, on the higher side.
Ottawa’s neighbourhoods, lowest rate first
| # | Neighbourhood | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bridlewood - Emerald Meadows | 2 | 8.1 |
| 2 | Kinburn | 2.1 | 7.3 |
| 3 | Rideaucrest - Davidson Heights | 2.2 | 10 |
| 4 | Munster - Ashton | 2.2 | 9.4 |
| 5 | Brookside - Briarbrook - Morgans Grant | 2.3 | 12.9 |
| … | |||
| 62 | Laurentian | 6.1 | 42.4 |
| 63 | Manor Park | 6.3 | 22.1 |
| 64 | Alta Vista | 6.4 | 35.8 |
| 65 | Hunt Club Park | 6.6 | 18.5 |
| 66 | Edwards - Carlsbad Springs | 6.7 | 32.3 |
| … | |||
| 99 | Sandy Hill | 21.1 | 77.5 |
| 100 | Waterridge Village | 22.7 | 34.6 |
| 101 | Lowertown East | 24.3 | 189.6 |
| 102 | Greenbelt (east) | 24.5 | 47.5 |
| 103 | Lowertown West | 90.7 | 353.7 |
Ottawa Police Service, Criminal Offences Open Data (Open Data Licence – Ottawa Police Service), 2023–2025, placed in the neighbourhoods and divided by their 2021 census residents. Violent: offences against the person.
Ottawa’s own neighbourhood figures, per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Crime across Ottawa, by type
These are Ottawa’s figures, for its police’s whole area: they aren’t published by neighbourhood.
Against the typical town its size, Ottawa runs highest on theft under $5,000 (16.9 per 1,000 against 11.5) and fraud (6 per 1,000 against 5). Assault and mischief sit below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 20.3 | 0.02 | 77% |
| Sexual violations against children | 112.3 | 0.10 | 54% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 182.7 | 0.2 | 97% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 98.3 | 0.09 | 33% |
| Robbery | 576 | 0.5 | 45% |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 72 | 0.06 | 72% |
| Other violent violations | 231.7 | 0.2 | 45% |
| Breaking and entering | 2,537 | 2.2 | 23% |
| Possession of stolen property | 149.7 | 0.1 | 76% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 1,875.7 | 1.6 | 9% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 421.7 | 0.4 | 10% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 19,538.7 | 16.9 | 14% |
| Mischief | 3,556.7 | 3.1 | 14% |
| Weapons violations | 238 | 0.2 | 82% |
| Administration of justice violations | 5,803 | 5 | 93% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 542.3 | 0.5 | 52% |
| Drug violations | 457 | 0.4 | 90% |
| Impaired driving | 673 | 0.6 | 98% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 31 | 0.03 | 38% |
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.
Alta Vista, year by year
Crime Severity Index
2024 stands out as the heaviest year at 56, with 2025 the lightest at 52.2. For the typical Canadian town of 50,000+, 2023 gave 64.3 and 2025 gave 59.2.
Every year as a table
| Year | Alta Vista | Typical town of 50,000+ |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 52.2 | 59.2 |
| 2024 | 56 | 59.9 |
| 2023 | 55.8 | 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 Alta Vista, each year, against the typical Canadian town of 50,000+.
Crime in the places around Alta Vista
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alta Vista | 8,387 | 54.7 | 66 | B |
| Billings Bridge - Heron Park | 5,370 | 54.7 | 66 | C− |
| Old Ottawa South | 6,704 | 54.7 | 66 | A+ |
| Playfair Park - Guildwood Estates | 6,186 | 54.7 | 66 | A+ |
| Ledbury-Heron Gate-Ridgemont | 15,610 | 54.7 | 66 | B− |
| Riverview | 14,030 | 54.7 | 66 | C |
| Elmvale - Canterbury | 8,149 | 54.7 | 66 | B− |
6 places nearby are policed together with it and reported as one, so there is nothing to compare.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Severity, weighed. Statistics Canada builds the index from every crime police record, weighted by how seriously the courts treat it, and divides by the population. It adds a warning of its own: “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.”
- What 100 means. Statistics Canada set the national index at 100 for 2006; every figure here is read against that.
- The clearance rate. A crime is cleared when police lay or recommend a charge, or solve it another way; the weighted rate counts serious crimes for more.
Questions about safety in Alta Vista
Is Alta Vista safe?
A Crime Severity Index of 54.7 (2023–2025), set beside a median of 60.3 for Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more: that is where Alta Vista stands, with 8 violent and 30.5 property incidents per 1,000 residents a year.
What is the most common crime in Alta Vista?
Police record theft under $5,000 most, 16.9 per 1,000 residents a year, ahead of fraud (6) and other Criminal Code offences (5.9).
Is crime going up in Alta Vista?
The reverse: 55.8 in 2023 came down to 52.2 by 2025, 6% lower.
How much of Alta Vista’s crime do police solve?
Weighted by seriousness, police cleared 32% of crime (49% of violent crime, 23% of the rest). The typical Canadian town of 50,000+ clears 38%.
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) · Ottawa Police Service, Criminal Offences Open Data · 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).