Photo: Nick3501 · CC BY-SA 3.0Per resident, Tay records less crime than 92% of Canadian towns
Of the two halves, violence comes to 46.4 and other offences to 29.7, beside norms of 89.4 and 56. Its letter for safety is A, worked out from crime the police covering Tay reported over 2023 to 2025: #138 of 862 in Ontario. Add to that, typical years here bring 7.6 violent incidents plus 13.5 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents, against 12.0 plus 30.5 in the typical town its size. For solved cases, the weighted rate is 40%, where the typical Canadian town its size manages 33%.
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 Tay
Below Ontario’s typical town
Set among Ontario’s towns, whose median is 56.2, Tay scores 34.3. Towns its size ↓
Lower than many towns its size
Counting up from the lowest index, Tay is 9th of the 40 Canadian towns closest in population. Towns its size ↓
Up since 2023
Tay’s index went from 31.2 in 2023 to 38.5 in 2025; the typical Canadian town its size moved from 69.5 to 60. Year by year ↓
Written from Statistics Canada’s police-reported crime by police service and detachment, 2023–2025. Figures are what police recorded, not convictions.
Inside Tay’s A 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: #138 of 862 in Ontario and #174 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 Tay, by type
Motor vehicle theft and theft under $5,000 sit below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0 | 0 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 1.7 | 0.1 | — |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 1.3 | 0.1 | — |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 1 | 0.08 | — |
| Robbery | 0.3 | 0.03 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 1 | 0.08 | — |
| Other violent violations | 2.3 | 0.2 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 16 | 1.3 | 13% |
| Possession of stolen property | 0.7 | 0.06 | — |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 12 | 1 | 23% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 2.3 | 0.2 | — |
| Theft under $5,000 | 46.3 | 3.9 | 14% |
| Mischief | 29.7 | 2.5 | 16% |
| Weapons violations | 4.3 | 0.4 | — |
| Administration of justice violations | 26.3 | 2.2 | 81% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 3 | 0.2 | — |
| Drug violations | 4.3 | 0.4 | — |
| Impaired driving | 8.3 | 0.7 | 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 Tay, up 23% between 2023 and 2025
Crime Severity Index
Its most recent year, 2025, was also its heaviest (38.5); the lightest was 2023 (31.2). Set beside it, the typical Canadian town its size went from 69.5 in 2023 to 60 in 2025.
Every year as a table
| Year | Tay | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 38.5 | 60 |
| 2024 | 33.2 | 67.9 |
| 2023 | 31.2 | 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 Tay, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Tay is 9th of 40 towns its size, lowest index first
| # | 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 | Georgian Bluffs Ontario | 12,061 | 29.2 | 35.4 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 5 | Norwich Ontario | 12,321 | 31.5 | 27.6 | A |
| 6 | Millbrook Ontario | 11,507 | 31.7 | 42.8 | A |
| 7 | Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine Quebec | 12,427 | 32.2 | 50.9 | A |
| 8 | Adjala-Tosorontio Ontario | 11,948 | 33.2 | 50.9 | A |
| 9 | Tay Ontario | 11,968 | 34.3 | 46.4 | A |
| 10 | Morrisburg Ontario | 11,943 | 36.9 | 47.2 | A |
| 11 | Ramara Ontario | 11,551 | 37.3 | 55.6 | A |
| 12 | Bromont Quebec | 12,413 | 38.1 | 45.9 | A |
| … | |||||
| 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 Tay in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Police in Tay recorded about 91 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 160 property crimes and 61 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 Tay
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tay | 11,968 | 34.3 | 46.4 | A |
| Midland | 19,305 | 81.8 | 97.3 | C |
| Penetanguishene | 11,141 | 56.4 | 92 | B |
| Tiny | 14,195 | 27.9 | 36.4 | A+ |
Of 3 places nearby with their own figures, 1 come in under Tay. Closest is Tiny, 17.7 km away, at 27.9 to 34.3 here.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- An index, not a verdict. The Crime Severity Index adds up police-reported crime, each kind weighted by the sentences courts give it, so one robbery counts for more than many thefts. In Statistics Canada’s words, “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.”
- The index’s scale. 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.
- What clearance means. 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.
Questions about safety in Tay
Is Tay safe?
Its police recorded 7.6 violent incidents and 13.5 property crimes a year per 1,000 residents over 2023–2025, which gives Tay a Crime Severity Index of 34.3. In the middle of Canadian towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people the figure is 66.
What is the most common crime in Tay?
Fraud is the most common, at 4.5 per 1,000 residents a year, then theft under $5,000 (3.9) and other Criminal Code offences (3.6).
Is crime going up in Tay?
It has: 31.2 in 2023 became 38.5 by 2025, a rise of 23%.
How much of Tay’s crime do police solve?
The weighted clearance rate is 40%: 71% for violent crime and 22% for non-violent. For the typical Canadian town its size it is 33%.
Whose figures are these?
Its own police: the service or contract that covers Tay 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).