Photo: Balcer · CC BY 2.5Shelburne sees less crime per resident than nine in ten Canadian towns
Scored on crime the police covering Shelburne reported across 2023 to 2025, the town lands on A for safety: #150 of 862 in Ontario. Year on year, 9.2 violent incidents and 15.5 incidents of property crime occur per 1,000 residents, compared with 12.0 and 30.5 in the typical town its size. Against usual levels of 89.4 and 56, violent and non-violent offences here reach 52.8 and 28.4. Its 4 neighbours with figures all 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 Shelburne
Down since 2023
Shelburne’s index went from 42 in 2023 to 30.2 in 2025; the typical Canadian town its size moved from 69.5 to 60. Year by year ↓
Below Ontario’s typical town
Within Ontario, the median town comes to 56.2 on the index, against 35.2 in Shelburne. Towns its size ↓
A lower index than most towns its size
Line up the 40 Canadian towns nearest in size by their index and Shelburne stands 2nd, the lowest first. Towns its size ↓
More crime solved
Weighted by seriousness, 48% of crime in Shelburne ends in a charge or is otherwise solved: 72% of violent crime and 30% of the rest. Across Canadian towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people the figure is 33%. Questions ↓
Written from Statistics Canada’s police-reported crime by police service and detachment, 2023–2025. Figures are what police recorded, not convictions.
The A for Shelburne, 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: #150 of 862 in Ontario and #192 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.
Shelburne’s index fell 28% from 2023 to 2025
Crime Severity Index
Its highest year was 2023, at 42, and its lowest 2025, at 30.2. 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 | Shelburne | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 30.2 | 60 |
| 2024 | 33.3 | 67.9 |
| 2023 | 42 | 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 Shelburne, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Shelburne is 2nd of 40 towns its size, lowest index first
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stoneham-et-Tewkesbury Quebec | 10,147 | 28.2 | 46.7 | A+ |
| 2 | Shelburne Ontario | 10,767 | 35.2 | 52.8 | A |
| 3 | Thornbury Ontario | 11,162 | 36.5 | 46.3 | A |
| 4 | Alexandria Ontario | 10,772 | 36.9 | 47.2 | A |
| 5 | Contrecoeur Quebec | 10,708 | 37.1 | 58.5 | A |
| … | |||||
| 9 | Wendover Ontario | 10,896 | 46.8 | 72.6 | A− |
| 10 | Walkerton Ontario | 10,811 | 47.4 | 56.9 | B+ |
| … | |||||
| 13 | Seaforth Ontario | 10,402 | 49.1 | 67.1 | B+ |
| 14 | Leeds and the Thousand Islands Ontario | 10,185 | 49.6 | 50.6 | B+ |
| … | |||||
| 40 | Wheatland County Alberta | 10,150 | 298.8 | 486.4 | 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 Shelburne in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Which crimes make up Shelburne’s figures
Against the typical town its size, Shelburne runs highest on sexual assault (1.1 per 1,000 against 0.8). Theft under $5,000 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 | 0.7 | 0.07 | — |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 1.7 | 0.2 | — |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 0 | 0 | — |
| Robbery | 2 | 0.2 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 0.3 | 0.03 | — |
| Other violent violations | 1 | 0.10 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 3.7 | 0.4 | — |
| Possession of stolen property | 0.7 | 0.07 | — |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 9.3 | 0.9 | 18% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 2 | 0.2 | — |
| Theft under $5,000 | 62.3 | 6 | 19% |
| Mischief | 36 | 3.5 | 15% |
| Weapons violations | 2.7 | 0.3 | — |
| Administration of justice violations | 25 | 2.4 | 76% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 4.3 | 0.4 | — |
| Drug violations | 6.3 | 0.6 | 75% |
| Impaired driving | 16.3 | 1.6 | 100% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 1 | 0.10 | — |
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.
Around 96 violent incidents a year on Shelburne’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 160 property crimes and 69 other violations a year (2023–2025 average). The grid is 1,000 residents, a coloured dot for each incident a year at these rates.
Crime in the places around Shelburne
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shelburne | 10,767 | 35.2 | 52.8 | A |
| Melancthon | 3,581 | 68.8 | 125.9 | B− |
| Amaranth | 4,808 | 29.9 | 22.1 | A+ |
| Mulmur | 3,813 | 24 | 17.5 | A+ |
| Mono | 10,036 | 34.9 | 55.4 | A |
Shelburne sits above 3 of the 4 neighbours with figures of their own. Closest is Amaranth, 10.4 km away, at 29.9 to 35.2 here.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What clearance means. Police clear an incident by charging someone, recommending a charge, or closing it another way. The rate weighs serious crimes more, as the index does.
- 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.”
- The index’s scale. 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.
Questions about safety in Shelburne
Is Shelburne safe?
Police-reported crime in Shelburne scores 35.2 on Statistics Canada’s Crime Severity Index (2023–2025 mean), with 9.2 violent incidents and 15.5 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year. Set that beside 66, the median for Canadian towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people.
What is the most common crime in Shelburne?
The three biggest groups are theft under $5,000 at 6, fraud at 4.4 and assault at 4.1, each per 1,000 residents a year.
Is crime going up in Shelburne?
Over 2023–2025 the index dropped 28%, to 30.2 from 42.
How much of Shelburne’s crime do police solve?
About 48% of crime is cleared, weighted by seriousness, with 72% of violent and 30% of other crime; the figure for the typical Canadian town its size is 33%.
Whose figures are these?
They are Shelburne’s own: its police cover the town and no other.
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).