Photo: Pierre Bona · CC BY-SA 3.0Compton records less crime per resident than 79% of Canadian towns
Of the two halves, violence comes to 81.6 and other offences to 30, beside norms of 85.7 and 62.8. The index fell from 43.7 in 2023 to 38.8 in 2025. Graded on crime the police covering Compton reported from 2023 to 2025, it scores A− for safety: #107 of 503 in Quebec. Add to that, its police logs show 11.6 violent incidents and 9.9 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents a year, while in the typical town its size the numbers are 12.9 and 31.2.
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 Coaticook MRC.
What stands out about safety in Compton
Heavier on violence
Violent crime scores 81.6 on Compton’s index against 85.7 for the typical Canadian town its size; non-violent crime, 30 against 62.8. By type ↓
A lower index than most towns its size
Set among the 40 Canadian towns closest to it in population, Compton comes 8th, counting from the lowest Crime Severity Index. Towns its size ↓
Police clear more here
Weighted by seriousness, 49% of crime in Compton ends in a charge or is otherwise solved: 62% of violent crime and 34% of the rest. Across Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people the figure is 34%. Questions ↓
Under the Quebec norm
The typical Quebec town scores 56.1; Compton, 44.5. 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 A− for Compton, 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: #107 of 503 in Quebec and #379 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.
Which crimes make up Compton’s figures
Mischief 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 | 17.7 | 0.9 | 44% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 3.3 | 0.2 | — |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 1 | 0.05 | — |
| Robbery | 2 | 0.1 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 2.3 | 0.1 | — |
| Other violent violations | 7.7 | 0.4 | 74% |
| Breaking and entering | 25.3 | 1.3 | 23% |
| Possession of stolen property | 2 | 0.1 | — |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 16.3 | 0.8 | 18% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 3.3 | 0.2 | — |
| Theft under $5,000 | 32.7 | 1.7 | 50% |
| Mischief | 31.3 | 1.6 | 36% |
| Weapons violations | 5 | 0.3 | 100% |
| Administration of justice violations | 34.7 | 1.8 | 100% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 7.3 | 0.4 | 51% |
| Drug violations | 13 | 0.7 | 72% |
| Impaired driving | 30 | 1.5 | 100% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 22.7 | 1.2 | 28% |
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.
By its index, Compton stands 8th of 40 towns its size
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saint-Gabriel-de-Valcartier Quebec | 3,400 | 28.2 | 46.7 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 4 | Saint-Jean-Baptiste Quebec | 3,332 | 37.1 | 58.5 | A |
| 5 | Hampton New Brunswick | 3,268 | 37.7 | 35.6 | A |
| 6 | North Algona Wilberforce Ontario | 3,290 | 41.5 | 77.6 | A− |
| 7 | Saint-Jean-Port-Joli Quebec | 3,330 | 43.7 | 73 | A− |
| 8 | Compton Quebec | 3,351 | 44.5 | 81.6 | A− |
| 9 | Portneuf Quebec | 3,410 | 44.5 | 72 | A− |
| 10 | Richmond Quebec | 3,419 | 45 | 82.8 | A− |
| 11 | Stoke Quebec | 3,272 | 45 | 82.8 | A− |
| 12 | Saint-Côme--Linière Quebec | 3,435 | 47.7 | 81.3 | B+ |
| 13 | Saint-Christophe-d'Arthabaska Quebec | 3,307 | 55 | 86.5 | B |
| … | |||||
| 40 | Inuvik Northwest Territories | 3,337 | 718.3 | 807.9 | 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 Compton in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Compton, year by year
Crime Severity Index
2024 was the peak (50.9) and 2025 the trough (38.8). Over 2023–2025, the typical Canadian town its size moved from 74.3 to 64.2.
Every year as a table
| Year | Compton | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 38.8 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 50.9 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 43.7 | 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 Compton, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
19,700 residents, about 230 violent incidents a year: the police area Compton belongs to, 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 190 property crimes and 130 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 Compton
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compton | 3,351 | 44.5 | 81.6 | A− |
| Waterville | 2,643 | 44.5 | 81.6 | A− |
| Hatley | 2,512 | 39.9 | 58.3 | A− |
| Coaticook | 9,027 | 44.5 | 81.6 | A− |
| Sainte-Catherine-de-Hatley | 2,938 | 39.9 | 58.3 | A− |
| Sherbrooke | 184,135 | 54.6 | 85.1 | B |
| Ayer's Cliff | 1,284 | 39.9 | 58.3 | A− |
Compton sits above 3 of the 4 neighbours with figures of their own. Just 10.5 km away, Hatley comes to 39.9, against 44.5. The table leaves out 2 neighbours whose figure is this one, reported by the same police.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What 100 means. 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.
- The clearance rate. 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.
- Severity, weighed. One robbery outweighs a run of minor thefts here, since every crime counts by the sentences courts give it. Statistics Canada adds: “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.”
- One figure for the MRC. Where the Sûreté du Québec polices, Statistics Canada publishes one figure per MRC; Compton shares it with its neighbours.
Questions about safety in Compton
Is Compton safe?
Its police recorded 11.6 violent incidents and 9.9 property crimes a year per 1,000 residents over 2023–2025, which gives Compton a Crime Severity Index of 44.5. In the middle of Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people the figure is 68.5.
What is the most common crime in Compton?
Most often it is assault: 4.9 per 1,000 residents a year. Next come fraud at 4.1 and Criminal Code traffic offences at 2.9.
Is crime going up in Compton?
The reverse: 43.7 in 2023 came down to 38.8 by 2025, 11% lower.
How much of Compton’s crime do police solve?
Weighted by seriousness, police cleared 49% of crime (62% of violent crime, 34% of the rest). The typical Canadian town its size clears 34%.
Whose figures are these?
A police service or detachment that covers Compton 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).