Photo: GTD Aquitaine · Public domainPeterborough sits near the middle of Canadian towns for recorded crime
All 4 towns next door with figures record less crime per resident. Overall, Peterborough grades C+ for safety (#680 of 862 in Ontario): close to the middle of Canadian towns, on crime its police reported from 2023 to 2025. Out of every 1,000 residents, 10.9 violent incidents and 36.1 incidents of property crime are reported annually, against 10.8 and 25.1 in the typical town its size. Split in two, the index gives 89.4 for violence and 65.2 for everything else (normally 75.2 and 54.2).
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 Peterborough
Theft under $5,000: high for a town its size
Peterborough records 21.1 incidents of theft under $5,000 per 1,000 residents a year, against 11.5 in the typical town among Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more. By type ↓
Above Ontario’s typical town
Peterborough’s index of 71.7 compares with 56.2 for the typical town in Ontario. Towns its size ↓
In the middle of towns its size
Of the 40 Canadian towns nearest it in size, Peterborough places 19th from the lowest index. Towns its size ↓
Police clear more here
For Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more the typical clearance rate is 38%; Peterborough’s police clear 47%, 68% of violent crime and 36% of the rest. Questions ↓
Written from Statistics Canada’s police-reported crime by police service and detachment, 2023–2025. Figures are what police recorded, not convictions.
Inside Peterborough’s C+ for safety
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: #680 of 862 in Ontario and #1,466 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.
What police record in Peterborough, by type
Against the typical town its size, Peterborough runs highest on theft under $5,000 (21.1 per 1,000 against 11.5), drug offences (1.6 per 1,000 against 0.9) and robbery (0.6 per 1,000 against 0.4). Motor vehicle theft sits below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 3.3 | 0.03 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 34.7 | 0.3 | 50% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 27.3 | 0.2 | 100% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 7.7 | 0.07 | 82% |
| Robbery | 60.3 | 0.6 | 55% |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 5 | 0.05 | 94% |
| Other violent violations | 16 | 0.1 | 73% |
| Breaking and entering | 280.7 | 2.6 | 24% |
| Possession of stolen property | 32.7 | 0.3 | 100% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 123.7 | 1.1 | 19% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 23.3 | 0.2 | 16% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 2,320.7 | 21.1 | 17% |
| Mischief | 492 | 4.5 | 20% |
| Weapons violations | 40.7 | 0.4 | 84% |
| Administration of justice violations | 1,225.3 | 11.1 | 97% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 40.7 | 0.4 | 79% |
| Drug violations | 179.3 | 1.6 | 96% |
| Impaired driving | 97.7 | 0.9 | 100% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 2.3 | 0.02 | — |
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 50,000 people or more.
Peterborough’s index fell 7% from 2023 to 2025
Crime Severity Index
Its index peaked in 2024 at 73.4, between two lighter years; the lowest, 2025, came in at 68.2. The typical Canadian town its size went from 64.3 in 2023 to 59.2 in 2025.
Every year as a table
| Year | Peterborough | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 68.2 | 59.2 |
| 2024 | 73.4 | 59.9 |
| 2023 | 73.4 | 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 Peterborough, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Peterborough’s police: about 1,190 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 3,950 a year and other violations 2,210 (2023–2025 average). Of 1,000 dots, one per resident, the coloured ones are a year’s incidents at these rates.
Peterborough is 19th of 40 towns its size, lowest index first
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Repentigny Quebec | 91,290 | 28.1 | 48.2 | A+ |
| 2 | Lindsay Ontario | 85,351 | 31.7 | 42.8 | A |
| … | |||||
| 4 | Bolton Ontario | 90,201 | 39.2 | 51 | A |
| … | |||||
| 8 | Pickering Ontario | 118,378 | 45.8 | 61.4 | A− |
| 9 | Bowmanville Ontario | 114,180 | 45.8 | 61.4 | A− |
| … | |||||
| 16 | Delta British Columbia | 124,670 | 59.7 | 69.8 | B− |
| 17 | Granby Quebec | 72,180 | 62.6 | 92.5 | B− |
| 18 | Strathcona County Alberta | 107,345 | 68.4 | 61.3 | B− |
| 19 | Peterborough Ontario | 97,834 | 71.7 | 89.4 | C+ |
| 20 | Chatham Ontario | 112,716 | 72.1 | 74.8 | C+ |
| 21 | Drummondville Quebec | 85,560 | 72.2 | 124.7 | C+ |
| 22 | Saint-Jérôme Quebec | 85,160 | 77.6 | 129.6 | C+ |
| … | |||||
| 40 | Prince George British Columbia | 85,944 | 209.1 | 239.6 | 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 Peterborough in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Crime in the places around Peterborough
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peterborough | 97,834 | 71.7 | 89.4 | C+ |
| Otonabee-South Monaghan | 8,084 | 26 | 27.2 | A+ |
| Bridgenorth | 20,628 | 21.2 | 23.1 | A+ |
| Millbrook | 11,507 | 31.7 | 42.8 | A |
| Douro-Dummer | 8,379 | 14.9 | 13.8 | A+ |
Each neighbour with its own figure comes in under Peterborough. Otonabee-South Monaghan, 11.3 km away, is the nearest lower one, at 26 to 71.7.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Solved cases. 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.
- How serious, not how safe. Police-reported incidents, each multiplied by a weight drawn from court sentences, summed and divided by the population: that is the index, and its makers attach a caution, “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.”
- Reading the number. 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 Peterborough
Is Peterborough safe?
Peterborough’s Crime Severity Index is 71.7 (2023–2025 mean); its police record 10.9 violent incidents and 36.1 property crimes 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 Peterborough?
Theft under $5,000 is the most common, at 21.1 per 1,000 residents a year, then other Criminal Code offences (17) and fraud (6.2).
Is crime going up in Peterborough?
Over 2023–2025 the index dropped 7%, to 68.2 from 73.4.
How much of Peterborough’s crime do police solve?
About 47% of crime is cleared, weighted by seriousness, with 68% of violent and 36% of other crime; the figure for the typical Canadian town its size is 38%.
Whose figures are these?
A police service or contract that serves Peterborough alone, so the figures are the town’s.
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).