Photo: Larry from Charlottetown, PEI, Canada · CC BY 2.0Fewer crimes per resident are recorded in Stratford than in 68% of Canadian towns
Next door, 5 of 6 towns with figures record less crime per resident. Behind the grade sit 9.9 violent incidents and 27.1 incidents of property crime per 1,000 people a year, where the comparison is 12.0 and 30.5 in the typical town its size. Add to that, from 2023 to 2025, crime the police covering Stratford reported put it at B+ for safety: #7 of 10 in Prince Edward Island. Its violent half comes to 78.6 and its non-violent half to 38.9, where the norm is 89.4 and 56.
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 Stratford
In the middle of towns its size
Set among the 40 Canadian towns closest to it in population, Stratford comes 18th, counting from the lowest Crime Severity Index. Towns its size ↓
Near the Prince Edward Island middle
The typical Prince Edward Island town scores 46.7; Stratford, 50. Towns its size ↓
Mischief: high for a town its size
Stratford records 13.3 incidents of mischief per 1,000 residents a year, against 3.7 in the typical town among Canadian towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people. By type ↓
Written from Statistics Canada’s police-reported crime by police service and detachment, 2023–2025. Figures are what police recorded, not convictions.
Inside Stratford’s B+ 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: #7 of 10 in Prince Edward Island and #534 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 Stratford, by type
Against the typical town its size, Stratford runs highest on mischief (13.3 per 1,000 against 3.7). Break and enter and motor vehicle theft sit below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0.7 | 0.05 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 4.3 | 0.3 | — |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 1 | 0.08 | — |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 0 | 0 | — |
| Robbery | 0.3 | 0.03 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 0 | 0 | — |
| Other violent violations | 3 | 0.2 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 7.7 | 0.6 | 9% |
| Possession of stolen property | 2 | 0.2 | — |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 7 | 0.5 | 24% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 2.7 | 0.2 | — |
| Theft under $5,000 | 94 | 7.3 | 9% |
| Mischief | 171.3 | 13.3 | 7% |
| Weapons violations | 0.7 | 0.05 | — |
| Administration of justice violations | 27 | 2.1 | 49% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 16.7 | 1.3 | 8% |
| Drug violations | 5.3 | 0.4 | 6% |
| Impaired driving | 47 | 3.6 | 47% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 0 | 0 | — |
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.
Stratford’s police: about 130 violent incidents a year over 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 350 property crimes and 160 other violations a year (2023–2025 average). The grid is 1,000 residents, a coloured dot for each incident a year at these rates.
Stratford’s index fell 5% from 2023 to 2025
Crime Severity Index
It rose to 64.1 in 2024 before easing, with the low of 41.7 in 2025. Over 2023–2025, the typical Canadian town its size moved from 69.5 to 60.
Every year as a table
| Year | Stratford | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 41.7 | 60 |
| 2024 | 64.1 | 67.9 |
| 2023 | 44 | 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 Stratford, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Among 40 towns its size, Stratford places 18th
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rothesay New Brunswick | 12,626 | 20 | 27.9 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 15 | Meaford Ontario | 12,652 | 42.7 | 45.3 | A− |
| 16 | Beaverton Ontario | 13,710 | 45.8 | 61.4 | A− |
| 17 | Brighton Ontario | 12,900 | 46.9 | 65.6 | B+ |
| 18 | Stratford Prince Edward Island | 13,152 | 50 | 78.6 | B+ |
| 19 | Sainte-Julienne Quebec | 12,990 | 54 | 93.4 | B |
| 20 | View Royal British Columbia | 12,795 | 54.5 | 53.9 | B |
| 21 | Summerland British Columbia | 12,343 | 56.2 | 38.6 | B |
| … | |||||
| 40 | Thompson Manitoba | 12,917 | 589.9 | 1,034.6 | 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 Stratford in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Crime in the places around Stratford
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stratford | 13,152 | 50 | 78.6 | B+ |
| Charlottetown | 48,118 | 86.1 | 87.1 | C |
| Crossroads | 2,366 | 46.6 | 50.7 | A− |
| Cornwall | 7,920 | 46.9 | 58 | B+ |
| North Shore | 1,609 | 46.6 | 50.7 | A− |
| Miltonvale Park | 1,279 | 46.6 | 50.7 | A− |
| West River | 4,155 | 46.6 | 50.7 | A− |
Of 6 places nearby with their own figures, 5 come in under Stratford. Just 5.9 km away, Crossroads comes to 46.6, against 50.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What 100 means. A reading of 100 is the whole country in 2006. Half of that, 50, means half the severity per resident.
- The clearance rate. Weighted like the index, so solving one assault counts for more than solving a mischief; a charge laid, recommended or otherwise resolved all count.
- Severity, weighed. The index weighs crimes rather than counting them: a serious offence moves it far more than a minor one. Statistics Canada is plain about its limits: “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.”
Questions about safety in Stratford
Is Stratford safe?
Against a typical 66 for Canadian towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, Stratford’s Crime Severity Index stands at 50 for 2023–2025. Its police record 9.9 violent incidents and 27.1 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year.
What is the most common crime in Stratford?
Top of the list is mischief (13.3 per 1,000 residents a year); other Criminal Code offences, at 7.9, and theft under $5,000, at 7.3, follow.
Is crime going up in Stratford?
Over 2023–2025 the index dropped 5%, to 41.7 from 44.
How much of Stratford’s crime do police solve?
30%, by the weighted clearance rate, where the typical Canadian town its size manages 33%. Violent crime is cleared at 50% and non-violent crime at 12%.
Whose figures are these?
Its own police: the service or contract that covers Stratford 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).