Photo: Phil Richards from London, UK · CC BY-SA 2.0More crimes per resident are recorded in South Keys than in 94% of Canadian towns
Its Crime Severity Index dropped from 55.8 in 2023 to 52.2 by 2025. 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+. The Safety Grade comes out at D, drawn from crime the police covering South Keys reported through 2023 to 2025: #851 of 862 in Ontario. Per 1,000 residents, 186.3 cases of property crime were recorded a year, against 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. Shared with the rest of the Ottawa service area: crime severity and crime rate.
South Keys: D 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: #851 of 862 in Ontario and #2,507 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 South Keys sits within Ottawa
Violent crime per 1,000 a year
Property crime per 1,000 a year
Of 103 Ottawa neighbourhoods, South Keys comes 91st 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 |
| … | |||
| 89 | Ledbury-Heron Gate-Ridgemont | 11.4 | 32.1 |
| 90 | Civic Hospital | 11.7 | 33.1 |
| 91 | South Keys | 12.7 | 186.3 |
| 92 | Billings Bridge - Heron Park | 13 | 69 |
| 93 | Britannia | 13.7 | 36.7 |
| … | |||
| 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.
What Ottawa’s police record, 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.
South Keys, year by year
Crime Severity Index
At 56, 2024 topped the three years, and 2025 was lowest at 52.2. Over 2023–2025, the typical Canadian town of 50,000+ moved from 64.3 to 59.2.
Every year as a table
| Year | South Keys | 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 South Keys, each year, against the typical Canadian town of 50,000+.
Crime in the places around South Keys
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Keys | 2,865 | 54.7 | 66 | D |
| Greenboro West | 5,597 | 54.7 | 66 | A |
| Emerald Woods - Sawmill Creek | 5,714 | 54.7 | 66 | A |
| Ledbury-Heron Gate-Ridgemont | 15,610 | 54.7 | 66 | B− |
| Blossom Park - Timbermill | 8,907 | 54.7 | 66 | A+ |
| Greenboro East | 4,800 | 54.7 | 66 | A+ |
| Riverside Park South - Revelstoke | 3,030 | 54.7 | 66 | C− |
The comparison skips 6 neighbours reported under the same police.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What the index measures. 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.”
- 100 is Canada in 2006. 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.
- Cleared, not convicted. Weighted like the index, so solving one assault counts for more than solving a mischief; a charge laid, recommended or otherwise resolved all count.
Questions about safety in South Keys
Is South Keys safe?
Against a typical 60.3 for Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more, South Keys’s Crime Severity Index stands at 54.7 for 2023–2025. Its police record 8 violent incidents and 30.5 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year.
What is the most common crime in South Keys?
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 South Keys?
Down 6%: 55.8 in 2023, 52.2 in 2025.
How much of South Keys’s crime do police solve?
Police cleared 32% of crime once each incident is weighted by seriousness: 49% of violent crime and 23% of the rest, against 38% for the typical Canadian town of 50,000+.
Whose figures are these?
The city police’s, as reported for 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).