Photo: Óðinn · CC BY-SA 2.5 caPer resident, Centretown records more crime than 91% of Canadian towns
By 2025 the index had dropped to 52.2, down from 55.8 in 2023. Still, its letter for safety is D, worked out from crime the police covering Centretown reported over 2023 to 2025: #845 of 862 in Ontario. Per 1,000 residents, 95.4 cases of property crime were recorded a year (20.6 in the typical Ottawa neighbourhood). On Statistics Canada’s Crime Severity Index, the 2023–2025 average is 54.7, where the typical Canadian town of 50,000+ sits at 60.3.
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.
What sits behind Centretown’s D
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: #845 of 862 in Ontario and #2,472 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 Centretown sits within Ottawa
Violent crime per 1,000 a year
Property crime per 1,000 a year
Of 103 Ottawa neighbourhoods, Centretown comes 98th counting from the lowest rate: above the typical one.
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 |
| … | |||
| 96 | West Centretown | 17.7 | 56.7 |
| 97 | Vanier South | 18.4 | 128.5 |
| 98 | Centretown | 20.6 | 95.4 |
| 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.
Ottawa’s crime, type 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). Mischief and sexual assault 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.
Centretown, year by year
Crime Severity Index
At 56, 2024 topped the three years, and 2025 was lowest at 52.2. In the same years the typical Canadian town of 50,000+ read 64.3 (2023), then 59.2 (2025).
Every year as a table
| Year | Centretown | 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 Centretown, each year, against the typical Canadian town of 50,000+.
Crime in the places around Centretown
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Centretown | 32,035 | 54.7 | 66 | D |
| West Centretown | 8,560 | 54.7 | 66 | C− |
| Glebe-Dows Lake | 13,436 | 54.7 | 66 | C− |
| Old Ottawa East | 8,308 | 54.7 | 66 | A |
| Lowertown West | 5,947 | 54.7 | 66 | D− |
| Sandy Hill | 13,830 | 54.7 | 66 | D |
| Lowertown East | 6,996 | 54.7 | 66 | D |
Neighbours policed by the same service carry the same figure, so the 6 of them aren’t set against it.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What clearance means. 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.
- An index, not a verdict. Each incident counts by its seriousness, judged from court sentences, and the total is set per resident. As Statistics Canada puts it, “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.”
- The index’s scale. 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 Centretown
Is Centretown safe?
On Statistics Canada’s figures, Centretown scores 54.7 on the Crime Severity Index for 2023–2025, with 8 violent and 30.5 property incidents per 1,000 residents a year. The middle of Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more is 60.3.
What is the most common crime in Centretown?
The three biggest groups are theft under $5,000 at 16.9, fraud at 6 and other Criminal Code offences at 5.9, each per 1,000 residents a year.
Is crime going up in Centretown?
No: the index fell 6%, from 55.8 in 2023 to 52.2 in 2025.
How much of Centretown’s crime do police solve?
About 32% of crime is cleared, weighted by seriousness, with 49% of violent and 23% of other crime; the figure for the typical Canadian town of 50,000+ is 38%.
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) · 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).