Photo: William Matheson from Bedford, Nova Scotia, Canada · CC BY-SA 2.0West River sees less crime per resident than 75% of Canadian towns
None of the 3 towns next door with figures records less crime per resident. Counting crime the police covering West River reported from 2023 to 2025, it grades A− for safety: #1 of 10 in Prince Edward Island. Of the two halves, violence comes to 50.7 and other offences to 45.3, beside norms of 85.7 and 62.8. Violence and property crime split as 10.1 violent incidents and 16.3 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents a year, beside 12.9 and 31.2 in the typical town its size.
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. Data for crime severity, crime rate and incident counts covers the Queens District detachment area.
What stands out about safety in West River
Lower than many towns its size
Counting up from the lowest index, West River is 11th of the 40 Canadian towns closest in population. Towns its size ↓
Easing since 2023
From 52.3 in 2023 to 43.1 in 2025: that is West River’s index, against 74.3 and 64.2 for the typical Canadian town its size. Year by year ↓
Less crime solved
Police cleared 25% of West River’s crime, weighted by seriousness (36% of violent crime, 21% of the rest), against 34% across Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people. Questions ↓
Much like Prince Edward Island’s towns
Set among Prince Edward Island’s towns, whose median is 46.7, West River scores 46.6. 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.
What’s behind West River’s grade
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: #1 of 10 in Prince Edward Island and #432 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.
West River’s crime by kind
Against the typical town its size, West River runs highest on mischief (7.1 per 1,000 against 4.9). 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 | 0 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 14.7 | 0.5 | 34% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 9.7 | 0.3 | 90% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 0.3 | 0.01 | — |
| Robbery | 1.7 | 0.05 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 1.7 | 0.05 | — |
| Other violent violations | 5.7 | 0.2 | 18% |
| Breaking and entering | 41 | 1.3 | 17% |
| Possession of stolen property | 8 | 0.2 | 29% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 24 | 0.8 | 29% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 6.3 | 0.2 | 5% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 105.7 | 3.3 | 9% |
| Mischief | 227.7 | 7.1 | 6% |
| Weapons violations | 5.3 | 0.2 | 57% |
| Administration of justice violations | 97.7 | 3 | 67% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 31.7 | 1 | 6% |
| Drug violations | 27.3 | 0.8 | 28% |
| Impaired driving | 117.7 | 3.7 | 50% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 1 | 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 2,500 to 10,000 people.
From 2023 to 2025, West River’s index dropped 18%
Crime Severity Index
Its index has not been as high since 2023 (52.3); the low point came in 2025, at 43.1. In the same years the typical Canadian town its size read 74.3 (2023), then 64.2 (2025).
Every year as a table
| Year | West River | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 43.1 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 44.4 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 52.3 | 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 West River, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
West River comes 11th of the 40 towns nearest in size
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lac-Etchemin Quebec | 4,089 | 30.8 | 48.9 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 8 | La Pocatière Quebec | 4,206 | 42.5 | 72 | A− |
| 9 | L'Ange-Gardien Quebec | 4,106 | 42.7 | 62.9 | A− |
| 10 | Saint-Ferréol-les-Neiges Quebec | 4,083 | 42.7 | 62.9 | A− |
| 11 | West River Prince Edward Island | 4,155 | 46.6 | 50.7 | A− |
| 12 | Carleton-sur-Mer Quebec | 4,175 | 47.7 | 75.4 | B+ |
| 13 | Saint-Ambroise Quebec | 4,262 | 48.7 | 80 | B+ |
| 14 | Métabetchouan--Lac-à-la-Croix Quebec | 4,230 | 49.6 | 81.8 | B+ |
| … | |||||
| 40 | Swan River Manitoba | 4,048 | 435.7 | 403.3 | 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 West River in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Around 320 violent incidents a year in the 32,800-resident police area around West River, 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 520 a year and other violations 410 (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 West River
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| West River | 4,155 | 46.6 | 50.7 | A− |
| Cornwall | 7,920 | 46.9 | 58 | B+ |
| Kingston | 1,308 | 46.6 | 50.7 | A− |
| Charlottetown | 48,118 | 86.1 | 87.1 | C |
| Stratford | 13,152 | 50 | 78.6 | B+ |
| Miltonvale Park | 1,279 | 46.6 | 50.7 | A− |
| Crapaud, Part 1 | 1,781 | 46.6 | 50.7 | A− |
West River has the lowest index of the places around it. 3 neighbours report through the same police, so their figure is this one and they aren’t compared.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Solved cases. A cleared case is one police consider solved. Whether anyone is convicted is a separate matter the rate doesn’t follow.
- How serious, not how safe. 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.”
- Town and surroundings together. Detachment figures cover the detachment’s whole area: West River together with the countryside and smaller places it polices.
- Reading the number. Statistics Canada set the national index at 100 for 2006; every figure here is read against that.
Questions about safety in West River
Is West River safe?
Statistics Canada puts West River at 46.6 on its Crime Severity Index over 2023–2025; Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people sit at 68.5 in the middle. Violent incidents run at 10.1 and property crimes at 16.3 per 1,000 residents a year.
What is the most common crime in West River?
Most often it is mischief: 7.1 per 1,000 residents a year. Next come other Criminal Code offences at 7 and Criminal Code traffic offences at 4.7.
Is crime going up in West River?
Over 2023–2025 the index dropped 18%, to 43.1 from 52.3.
How much of West River’s crime do police solve?
The weighted clearance rate is 25%: 36% for violent crime and 21% for non-violent. For the typical Canadian town its size it is 34%.
Whose figures are these?
A police service or detachment that covers West River 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).