Photo: P199 · CC BY-SA 3.0Recorded crime per resident is higher in Petrolia than in 97% of Canadian towns
Its police logs show 53.3 violent incidents and 95.0 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents a year, while in the typical town its size the numbers are 12.9 and 31.2. On top of that, a Safety Grade of D− follows from crime the police covering Petrolia reported over the years 2023 to 2025: #857 of 862 in Ontario. Split in two, the index gives 378.3 for violence and 318.9 for everything else (normally 85.7 and 62.8).
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. Measured across the Lambton (Walpole Island First Nation) detachment area: crime severity, crime rate and incident counts.
What stands out about safety in Petrolia
Drug offences: high for a town its size
Petrolia records 8.4 incidents of drug offences per 1,000 residents a year, against 0.7 in the typical town among Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people. By type ↓
Higher than most of Ontario
Set among Ontario’s towns, whose median is 56.2, Petrolia scores 333.9. Towns its size ↓
A higher index than most towns its size
Counting up from the lowest index, Petrolia is 38th of the 40 Canadian towns closest in population. Towns its size ↓
More crime solved
Weighted by seriousness, 50% of crime in Petrolia ends in a charge or is otherwise solved: 74% of violent crime and 38% of the rest. Across Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people the figure is 34%. Questions ↓
Written from Statistics Canada’s police-reported crime by police service and detachment, 2023–2025. Figures are what police recorded, not convictions.
Petrolia: 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: #857 of 862 in Ontario and #2,545 of 2,572 Canadian towns.
The Crime Severity Index and its two halves, beside the typical figure for Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people.
Which crimes make up Petrolia’s figures
Against the typical town its size, Petrolia runs highest on drug offences (8.4 per 1,000 against 0.7), break and enter (16.5 per 1,000 against 2.8) and mischief (23.3 per 1,000 against 4.9).
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0 | 0 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 2 | 1.1 | — |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 4.3 | 2.4 | — |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 3 | 1.7 | — |
| Robbery | 1.7 | 0.9 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 1.7 | 0.9 | — |
| Other violent violations | 0.7 | 0.4 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 30 | 16.5 | 30% |
| Possession of stolen property | 4.3 | 2.4 | — |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 14.7 | 8.1 | 29% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 8 | 4.4 | 13% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 61.7 | 33.9 | 13% |
| Mischief | 42.3 | 23.3 | 25% |
| Weapons violations | 17 | 9.4 | 29% |
| Administration of justice violations | 54 | 29.7 | 60% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 10.7 | 5.9 | 35% |
| Drug violations | 15.3 | 8.4 | 72% |
| Impaired driving | 39.7 | 21.8 | 99% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 2.3 | 1.3 | — |
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 2,500 to 10,000 people.
Among 40 towns its size, Petrolia places 38th
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beresford New Brunswick | 6,543 | 25 | 35.4 | A+ |
| 2 | Glencoe Ontario | 6,468 | 25.7 | 29 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 6 | Lanark Highlands Ontario | 6,370 | 33.1 | 38.8 | A |
| 7 | Mildmay Ontario | 6,247 | 33.7 | 38.7 | A |
| 8 | Tay Valley Ontario | 6,171 | 37.7 | 46.6 | A |
| … | |||||
| 35 | Port-Cartier Quebec | 6,436 | 103.9 | 209.6 | C− |
| 36 | Vegreville Alberta | 6,153 | 138.4 | 107.9 | D |
| 37 | Woodstock New Brunswick | 6,260 | 153.7 | 132.1 | D |
| 38 | Petrolia Ontario | 6,422 | 333.9 | 378.3 | D− |
| 39 | St. Paul County No. 19 Alberta | 6,462 | 352.9 | 639.7 | D− |
| 40 | St. Paul Alberta | 6,218 | 364.7 | 364.4 | 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 Petrolia in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
The police area Petrolia is part of, 1,840 residents, recorded about 97 violent incidents a year (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.
Add about 170 property crimes and 200 other violations a year (2023–2025 average). The grid is 1,000 residents, a coloured dot for each incident a year at these rates.
The index in Petrolia, each year
Crime Severity Index
Its highest year was 2023, at 360.3, and its lowest 2025, at 287.3. In the same years the typical Canadian town its size read 74.3 (2023), then 64.2 (2025).
Every year as a table
| Year | Petrolia | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 287.3 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 354.1 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 360.3 | 74.3 |
Statistics Canada, Crime Severity Index by police service, each year as published. Typical: the median of Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people.
The Crime Severity Index of the police covering Petrolia, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Crime in the places around Petrolia
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Petrolia | 6,422 | 333.9 | 378.3 | D− |
| Enniskillen | 3,174 | 333.9 | 378.3 | D− |
| Plympton-Wyoming | 9,548 | 333.9 | 378.3 | D− |
2 nearby places have no figure apart from this one: they share a police service.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What the index measures. 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.”
- A small police area. About 1,836 people live in the area these figures cover; at that size one bad year shows up large. Statistics Canada says: “Data for police services or detachments with populations less than 5,000 should be used with caution.”
- A detachment’s area. Detachment figures cover the detachment’s whole area: Petrolia together with the countryside and smaller places it polices.
- 100 is Canada in 2006. 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.
- 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 Petrolia
Is Petrolia safe?
Averaged over 2023–2025, the Crime Severity Index for Petrolia comes to 333.9. Per 1,000 residents a year, police logged 53.3 violent incidents and 95 property crimes. Across Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, the median is 68.5.
What is the most common crime in Petrolia?
Other Criminal Code offences is the most common, at 52.3 per 1,000 residents a year, then theft under $5,000 (33.9) and Criminal Code traffic offences (32.8).
Is crime going up in Petrolia?
No: the index fell 20%, from 360.3 in 2023 to 287.3 in 2025. With few people or missing years behind it, the change is a rough one.
How much of Petrolia’s crime do police solve?
Police solve 74% of violent crime and 38% of everything else, 50% overall once each crime is weighted by seriousness, against 34% for the typical Canadian town its size.
Whose figures are these?
Those of the police serving Petrolia together with its neighbours or the countryside around it.
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).