Photo: P199 · CC BY-SA 3.0Metcalfe records less crime per resident than almost every Canadian town
From 2023 to 2025, crime the police covering Metcalfe reported put it at A+ for safety: #1 of 862 in Ontario. Weighted by seriousness, its crime scores 54.7 on the index for 2023–2025, beside 60.3 for the typical Canadian town of 50,000+. Property crime averaged 12.0 incidents per 1,000 residents a year, against 20.6 in the typical Ottawa neighbourhood. By 2025 the index had dropped to 52.2, down from 55.8 in 2023.
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: one figure for all of the Ottawa service area.
Metcalfe: 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: #1 of 862 in Ontario and #1 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.
Metcalfe among Ottawa’s neighbourhoods
Violent crime per 1,000 a year
Property crime per 1,000 a year
Ranked from the lowest rate, Metcalfe is 20th of Ottawa’s 103 neighbourhoods, short of the middle.
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 |
| … | |||
| 18 | Playfair Park - Guildwood Estates | 3.1 | 13.4 |
| 19 | Riverside South - Leitrim | 3.3 | 13.9 |
| 20 | Metcalfe | 3.3 | 12 |
| 21 | Corkery | 3.3 | 7.2 |
| 22 | Vars | 3.4 | 12.3 |
| … | |||
| 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.
Metcalfe, year by year
Crime Severity Index
2024 was the peak (56) and 2025 the trough (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 | Metcalfe | 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 Metcalfe, each year, against the typical Canadian town of 50,000+.
Crime in the places around Metcalfe
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metcalfe | 5,434 | 54.7 | 66 | A+ |
| Greely | 10,359 | 54.7 | 66 | A+ |
| Edwards - Carlsbad Springs | 3,536 | 54.7 | 66 | B+ |
| Embrun | 23,655 | 26.9 | 39.7 | A+ |
| Osgoode - Vernon | 6,398 | 54.7 | 66 | A+ |
| Findlay Creek | 14,089 | 54.7 | 66 | A |
| Manotick | 8,770 | 54.7 | 66 | A+ |
5 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
- The clearance rate. Police clear an incident by charging someone, recommending a charge, or closing it another way. The rate weighs serious crimes more, as the index does.
- Severity, weighed. Statistics Canada, which publishes the index, attaches a caution: “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.” The number weighs each reported crime by its seriousness before dividing by residents.
- What 100 means. 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.
Questions about safety in Metcalfe
Is Metcalfe safe?
Its police recorded 8 violent incidents and 30.5 property crimes a year per 1,000 residents over 2023–2025, which gives Metcalfe a Crime Severity Index of 54.7. Set that beside 60.3, the median for Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more.
What is the most common crime in Metcalfe?
Top of the list is theft under $5,000 (16.9 per 1,000 residents a year); fraud, at 6, and other Criminal Code offences, at 5.9, follow.
Is crime going up in Metcalfe?
Down 6%: 55.8 in 2023, 52.2 in 2025.
How much of Metcalfe’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).