Photo: Karl Brooks Heisey died December 7, 1937 · CC BY-SA 4.0Per resident, Red Lake records more crime than 85% of Canadian towns
Its violent half comes to 253 and its non-violent half to 66.6, where the norm is 85.7 and 62.8. Graded on crime the police covering Red Lake reported from 2023 to 2025, it scores C− for safety: #830 of 862 in Ontario. What’s more, for every 1,000 residents, 50.5 violent incidents and 20.4 incidents of property crime were logged a year; in the typical town its size, the figures are 12.9 and 31.2.
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 Red Lake
Assault: high for a town its size
Red Lake records 35.1 incidents of assault per 1,000 residents a year, against 6.7 in the typical town among Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people. By type ↓
Violence weighs more than the rest
Violent crime scores 253 on Red Lake’s index against 85.7 for the typical Canadian town its size; non-violent crime, 66.6 against 62.8. By type ↓
Above Ontario’s typical town
Set among Ontario’s towns, whose median is 56.2, Red Lake scores 119.1. Towns its size ↓
A high clearance rate
Weighted by seriousness, 73% of crime in Red Lake ends in a charge or is otherwise solved: 82% of violent crime and 60% 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.
The C− for Red Lake, and how it is built
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: #830 of 862 in Ontario and #2,227 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 Red Lake’s figures
Against the typical town its size, Red Lake runs highest on assault (35.1 per 1,000 against 6.7), sexual assault (4.8 per 1,000 against 0.9) and drug offences (2.3 per 1,000 against 0.7). Break and enter and theft under $5,000 sit below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0.3 | 0.08 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 1.3 | 0.3 | — |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 8 | 1.9 | 100% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 0.3 | 0.08 | — |
| Robbery | 0.7 | 0.2 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 1.7 | 0.4 | — |
| Other violent violations | 4 | 0.9 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 9.7 | 2.3 | 69% |
| Possession of stolen property | 1.7 | 0.4 | — |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 2.7 | 0.6 | — |
| Theft over $5,000 | 1.3 | 0.3 | — |
| Theft under $5,000 | 24.3 | 5.7 | 58% |
| Mischief | 27.7 | 6.5 | 52% |
| Weapons violations | 1 | 0.2 | — |
| Administration of justice violations | 77.7 | 18.2 | 96% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 5.3 | 1.2 | 81% |
| Drug violations | 10 | 2.3 | 43% |
| Impaired driving | 11.3 | 2.7 | 100% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 1 | 0.2 | — |
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.
By its index, Red Lake stands 34th of 40 towns its size
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beresford New Brunswick | 4,389 | 25 | 35.4 | A+ |
| 2 | Montague Ontario | 4,414 | 30.8 | 39.6 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 6 | Eganville Ontario | 4,326 | 38.6 | 53.5 | A |
| 7 | Deep River Ontario | 4,353 | 39.3 | 56 | A |
| … | |||||
| 10 | Highlands East Ontario | 4,372 | 44.7 | 49.5 | A− |
| … | |||||
| 31 | Prescott Ontario | 4,342 | 111.5 | 167.1 | C− |
| 32 | Napierville Quebec | 4,187 | 116.5 | 80.3 | C− |
| 33 | Stellarton Nova Scotia | 4,251 | 116.6 | 97.1 | C− |
| 34 | Red Lake Ontario | 4,285 | 119.1 | 253 | C− |
| 35 | Ormstown Quebec | 4,259 | 120.3 | 141 | D |
| 36 | Bancroft Ontario | 4,331 | 121.5 | 153.2 | D |
| 37 | Vermilion Alberta | 4,192 | 142.6 | 129.6 | D |
| … | |||||
| 40 | High Level Alberta | 4,390 | 324 | 498.7 | 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 Red Lake in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Around 220 violent incidents a year on Red Lake’s police records (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 87 property crimes and 140 other violations a year (2023–2025 average). The grid is 1,000 residents, a coloured dot for each incident a year at these rates.
Three years of Red Lake’s crime index
Crime Severity Index
It finished on its highest reading, 150.9 in 2025, having been lowest in 2023 at 103. Set beside it, the typical Canadian town its size went from 74.3 in 2023 to 64.2 in 2025.
Every year as a table
| Year | Red Lake | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 150.9 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 103.5 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 103 | 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 Red Lake, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Crime in the places around Red Lake
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red Lake | 4,285 | 119.1 | 253 | C− |
| Kenora, Unorganized (133 km) | 7,877 | 73.9 | 96.2 | C+ |
| Kenora (146 km) | 15,892 | 127.1 | 186.8 | D |
| Machin (146 km) | 1,060 | 61.4 | 91 | B− |
| Lac Seul 28 (147 km) | 1,076 | 547.7 | 1,097.5 | D− |
| Dryden (154 km) | 7,808 | 137.6 | 238.3 | D |
Red Lake sits above 2 of the 5 neighbours with figures of their own. Kenora, Unorganized, 133.3 km away, is the nearest lower one, at 73.9 to 119.1.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means. Red Lake has few close neighbours with figures, so the list reaches 133–154 km out.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Reading the number. A reading of 100 is the whole country in 2006. Half of that, 50, means half the severity per resident.
- Solved cases. Weighted like the index, so solving one assault counts for more than solving a mischief; a charge laid, recommended or otherwise resolved all count.
- How serious, not how safe. 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.”
- Small numbers. With roughly 4,285 residents in its police area, a few cases swing the figures. In Statistics Canada’s words, “Data for police services or detachments with populations less than 5,000 should be used with caution.”
Questions about safety in Red Lake
Is Red Lake safe?
Averaged over 2023–2025, the Crime Severity Index for Red Lake comes to 119.1. Per 1,000 residents a year, police logged 50.5 violent incidents and 20.4 property crimes. Across Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, the median is 68.5.
What is the most common crime in Red Lake?
Most often it is assault: 35.1 per 1,000 residents a year. Next come other Criminal Code offences at 25.4 and mischief at 6.5.
Is crime going up in Red Lake?
Yes: the index rose 46%, from 103 in 2023 to 150.9 in 2025. The police area is small or partly reported, so treat the change with care.
How much of Red Lake’s crime do police solve?
Counting serious crimes for more, 73% end in a charge or are otherwise solved (34% for the typical Canadian town its size); split up, that is 82% of violent and 60% of non-violent crime.
Whose figures are these?
Its own police: the service or contract that covers Red Lake 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).