Photo: Andre Carrotflower · CC BY-SA 4.0For recorded crime, Penetanguishene sits in the middle of Canadian towns
Penetanguishene grades B for safety overall (#390 of 862 in Ontario): close to the middle of Canadian towns, on crime its police reported from 2023 to 2025. Of the two halves, violence comes to 92 and other offences to 42.6, beside norms of 89.4 and 56. Out of every 1,000 residents, 16.9 violent incidents and 20.6 incidents of property crime are reported annually, against 12.0 and 30.5 in the typical town its size. Next door, 2 of 3 towns with figures record less crime per resident.
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 Penetanguishene
Sexual assault: high for a town its size
Penetanguishene records 1.9 incidents of sexual assault per 1,000 residents a year, against 0.8 in the typical town among Canadian towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people. By type ↓
More crime solved
For Canadian towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people the typical clearance rate is 33%; Penetanguishene’s police clear 47%, 68% of violent crime and 29% of the rest. Questions ↓
In the middle of towns its size
Of the 40 Canadian towns nearest it in size, Penetanguishene places 21st from the lowest index. Towns its size ↓
Violent crime leads the index
Penetanguishene’s index splits into violent crime, 92 here and 89.4 for the typical Canadian town its size, and everything else, 42.6 against 56. By type ↓
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 Penetanguishene’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: #390 of 862 in Ontario and #765 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.
What police record in Penetanguishene, by type
Against the typical town its size, Penetanguishene runs highest on sexual assault (1.9 per 1,000 against 0.8), assault (9.6 per 1,000 against 6.6) and drug offences (1 per 1,000 against 0.8). Break and enter and motor vehicle theft sit below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0 | 0 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 4.7 | 0.4 | — |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 5 | 0.5 | 100% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 0 | 0 | — |
| Robbery | 2.3 | 0.2 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 0.7 | 0.06 | — |
| Other violent violations | 3.3 | 0.3 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 16 | 1.5 | 27% |
| Possession of stolen property | 3.3 | 0.3 | — |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 10 | 0.9 | 20% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 8.7 | 0.8 | 11% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 93 | 8.4 | 22% |
| Mischief | 32.3 | 2.9 | 38% |
| Weapons violations | 6.3 | 0.6 | 52% |
| Administration of justice violations | 36 | 3.3 | 78% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 3.3 | 0.3 | — |
| Drug violations | 10.7 | 1 | 56% |
| Impaired driving | 7 | 0.6 | 100% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 0.3 | 0.03 | — |
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.
In Penetanguishene, steady between 2023 and 2025
Crime Severity Index
Its index peaked in 2024 at 59.7, between two lighter years; the lowest, 2025, came in at 53.6. The comparison line, the typical Canadian town its size, runs from 69.5 in 2023 to 60 by 2025.
Every year as a table
| Year | Penetanguishene | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 53.6 | 60 |
| 2024 | 59.7 | 67.9 |
| 2023 | 55.9 | 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 Penetanguishene, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Penetanguishene’s police: about 190 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 230 a year and other violations 81 (2023–2025 average). Of 1,000 dots, one per resident, the coloured ones are a year’s incidents at these rates.
Penetanguishene comes 21st of the 40 towns nearest in size
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hamilton Ontario | 11,810 | 25.7 | 30.4 | A+ |
| 2 | Drayton Ontario | 11,518 | 29 | 28.2 | A+ |
| 3 | Millbrook Ontario | 11,507 | 31.7 | 42.8 | A |
| 4 | Shelburne Ontario | 10,767 | 35.2 | 52.8 | A |
| … | |||||
| 18 | Yarmouth Nova Scotia | 10,637 | 52.1 | 68.3 | B+ |
| 19 | Arnprior Ontario | 11,459 | 52.1 | 81.8 | B+ |
| 20 | Exeter Ontario | 10,781 | 55.2 | 73.8 | B |
| 21 | Penetanguishene Ontario | 11,141 | 56.4 | 92 | B |
| 22 | Morden Manitoba | 11,578 | 61.9 | 42.6 | B− |
| 23 | Banff Alberta | 11,402 | 63 | 74.8 | B− |
| 24 | Chester Nova Scotia | 11,740 | 63.1 | 76.8 | B− |
| … | |||||
| 40 | Williams Lake British Columbia | 11,462 | 248.9 | 248.6 | 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 Penetanguishene in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Crime in the places around Penetanguishene
Of 3 places nearby with their own figures, 2 come in under Penetanguishene. Closest is Tiny, 9.5 km away, at 27.9 to 56.4 here.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The index’s scale. A reading of 100 is the whole country in 2006. Half of that, 50, means half the severity per resident.
- What clearance means. Weighted like the index, so solving one assault counts for more than solving a mischief; a charge laid, recommended or otherwise resolved all count.
- An index, not a verdict. 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.”
Questions about safety in Penetanguishene
Is Penetanguishene safe?
Penetanguishene scores 56.4 on Statistics Canada’s Crime Severity Index (2023–2025 mean), where the typical figure for Canadian towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people is 66; per 1,000 residents a year that is 16.9 violent incidents and 20.6 property crimes.
What is the most common crime in Penetanguishene?
Assault is the most common, at 9.6 per 1,000 residents a year, then theft under $5,000 (8.4) and fraud (5.7).
Is crime going up in Penetanguishene?
The index stayed close to where it was, 55.9 in 2023 and 53.6 in 2025.
How much of Penetanguishene’s crime do police solve?
Weighted by seriousness, police cleared 47% of crime (68% of violent crime, 29% of the rest). The typical Canadian town its size clears 33%.
Whose figures are these?
Its own police: the service or contract that covers Penetanguishene and nowhere else.
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).