Photo: Joe Mabel (on Flickr as Joe Mabel from Seattle, US) · CC BY-SA 3.0Crime per resident in Whitby runs lower than in 75% of Canadian towns
Its violent half comes to 61.4 and its non-violent half to 39.9, where the norm is 75.2 and 54.2. A Safety Grade of A− follows from crime the police covering Whitby reported over the years 2023 to 2025: #234 of 862 in Ontario. On top of that, each year brought 7.9 violent incidents and 20.4 incidents of property crime for every 1,000 residents (10.8 and 25.1 in the typical town its size). In 2023 the index stood at 47; it fell to 43.2 in 2025.
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. Area behind the crime severity, crime rate and incident counts figures: the Durham Region (Oshawa/Whitby/Ajax) service area.
What stands out about safety in Whitby
A lower index than most towns its size
Of the 40 Canadian towns nearest it in size, Whitby places 8th from the lowest index. Towns its size ↓
Close to Ontario’s typical town
Whitby’s index of 45.8 compares with 56.2 for the typical town in Ontario. Towns its size ↓
Written from Statistics Canada’s police-reported crime by police service and detachment, 2023–2025. Figures are what police recorded, not convictions.
The grade: A− for Whitby
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: #234 of 862 in Ontario and #432 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.
Among 40 towns its size, Whitby places 8th
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Burlington Ontario | 197,737 | 31.4 | 28.3 | A |
| 2 | Milton Ontario | 157,345 | 31.4 | 28.3 | A |
| … | |||||
| 5 | Terrebonne Quebec | 126,872 | 41.6 | 72.5 | A− |
| 6 | Cape Breton Nova Scotia | 106,752 | 44 | 56.2 | A− |
| 7 | Oshawa Ontario | 213,592 | 45.8 | 61.4 | A− |
| 8 | Whitby Ontario | 162,413 | 45.8 | 61.4 | A− |
| 9 | Ajax Ontario | 141,111 | 45.8 | 61.4 | A− |
| 10 | Pickering Ontario | 118,378 | 45.8 | 61.4 | A− |
| 11 | Bowmanville Ontario | 114,180 | 45.8 | 61.4 | A− |
| 12 | Richmond Hill Ontario | 222,031 | 52.8 | 67.4 | B+ |
| … | |||||
| 15 | St. Catharines Ontario | 153,865 | 56.1 | 72.6 | B |
| … | |||||
| 40 | Victoria British Columbia | 103,888 | 161.3 | 160.1 | 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 Whitby in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Which crimes make up Whitby’s figures
Mischief and break and enter sit below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 10.7 | 0.01 | 78% |
| Sexual violations against children | 118.7 | 0.2 | 61% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 92.7 | 0.1 | 100% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 68.3 | 0.09 | 41% |
| Robbery | 303 | 0.4 | 49% |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 24 | 0.03 | 75% |
| Other violent violations | 106.3 | 0.1 | 53% |
| Breaking and entering | 1,113.7 | 1.4 | 29% |
| Possession of stolen property | 152.3 | 0.2 | 89% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 1,359.7 | 1.7 | 10% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 256.3 | 0.3 | 19% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 7,521.7 | 9.5 | 24% |
| Mischief | 2,015.3 | 2.6 | 23% |
| Weapons violations | 122.3 | 0.2 | 88% |
| Administration of justice violations | 5,130.7 | 6.5 | 94% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 249.3 | 0.3 | 69% |
| Drug violations | 551.7 | 0.7 | 93% |
| Impaired driving | 813.3 | 1 | 99% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 153 | 0.2 | 18% |
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.
Whitby, year by year
Crime Severity Index
Its heaviest year fell in the middle, 2024, at 47.2; 2025 was the lightest, at 43.2. For the typical Canadian town its size, 2023 gave 64.3 and 2025 gave 59.2.
Every year as a table
| Year | Whitby | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 43.2 | 59.2 |
| 2024 | 47.2 | 59.9 |
| 2023 | 47 | 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 Whitby, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
The police area Whitby is part of, 810,100 residents, recorded about 6,230 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.
Property crime adds about 16,100 a year and other violations 7,580 (2023–2025 average). Of 1,000 dots, one per resident, the coloured ones are a year’s incidents at these rates.
Crime in the places around Whitby
Its police also cover 3 neighbouring places, which carry the same index and are left out above.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- An index, not a verdict. Each incident counts by its seriousness, judged from court sentences, and the total is set per resident. As Statistics Canada puts it, “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.”
- A wider service area. Whitby is policed by a service that covers other municipalities too, and Statistics Canada reports the service as a whole.
- The index’s scale. A reading of 100 is the whole country in 2006. Half of that, 50, means half the severity per resident.
- 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.
Questions about safety in Whitby
Is Whitby safe?
Police-reported crime in Whitby scores 45.8 on Statistics Canada’s Crime Severity Index (2023–2025 mean), with 7.9 violent incidents and 20.4 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year. For Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more, the typical index is 60.3.
What is the most common crime in Whitby?
Theft under $5,000 is the most common, at 9.5 per 1,000 residents a year, then other Criminal Code offences (7.3) and fraud (4.6).
Is crime going up in Whitby?
The reverse: 47 in 2023 came down to 43.2 by 2025, 8% lower.
How much of Whitby’s crime do police solve?
Police cleared 42% of crime once each incident is weighted by seriousness: 55% of violent crime and 35% of the rest, against 38% for the typical Canadian town its size.
Whose figures are these?
A police service or detachment that covers Whitby and other places, so the figures are shared.
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).