Photo: Veillg1 · CC BY-SA 4.0Crime in Gatineau weighs about what it does in the typical Canadian town its size
Recorded violent incidents ran at 14.9 per 1,000 residents a year and property crime at 20.9, against 10.8 and 25.1 in the typical town its size. Even so, 2 of the 6 towns next door with figures record less crime per resident. Against usual levels of 75.2 and 54.2, violent and non-violent offences here reach 100.1 and 55. Police clear 45% of crime, weighted by seriousness; the figure for the typical Canadian town its size is 38%.
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 Gatineau
Drug offences: high for a town its size
Gatineau records 1.5 incidents of drug offences per 1,000 residents a year, against 0.9 in the typical town among Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more. By type ↓
Heavier than Quebec’s middle
Gatineau’s index of 67.5 compares with 56.1 for the typical town in Quebec. 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.
Before the grade: Gatineau’s figures
There is no grade here yet, because Canada’s towns will be graded together once all their data has been checked.
Crime Severity Index
Violent crime index
Non-violent crime index
Typical: the median of Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more, 2023–2025 means. City neighbourhoods count, each with its city’s figure; city totals and reserves don’t.
The Crime Severity Index and its two halves, beside the typical figure for Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more.
What police record in Gatineau, by type
Against the typical town its size, Gatineau runs highest on drug offences (1.5 per 1,000 against 0.9), assault (7.4 per 1,000 against 4.9) and sexual assault (1 per 1,000 against 0.8). 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 | 2.7 | 0.01 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 159 | 0.5 | 55% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 139 | 0.5 | 99% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 42.7 | 0.1 | 63% |
| Robbery | 112.7 | 0.4 | 62% |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 62.7 | 0.2 | 89% |
| Other violent violations | 127.3 | 0.4 | 65% |
| Breaking and entering | 692 | 2.3 | 28% |
| Possession of stolen property | 62.3 | 0.2 | 70% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 368.3 | 1.2 | 22% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 134.3 | 0.4 | 19% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 2,314 | 7.7 | 29% |
| Mischief | 940 | 3.1 | 18% |
| Weapons violations | 46 | 0.2 | 85% |
| Administration of justice violations | 1,147.3 | 3.8 | 96% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 229.3 | 0.8 | 69% |
| Drug violations | 439.3 | 1.5 | 87% |
| Impaired driving | 329 | 1.1 | 99% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 1,110.7 | 3.7 | 15% |
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.
From 2023 to 2025, Gatineau’s index held steady
Crime Severity Index
Its index has not been as high since 2023 (67.8); the low point came in 2025, at 67.1. The comparison line, the typical Canadian town its size, runs from 64.3 in 2023 to 59.2 by 2025.
Every year as a table
| Year | Gatineau | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 67.1 | 59.2 |
| 2024 | 67.5 | 59.9 |
| 2023 | 67.8 | 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 Gatineau, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Police in Gatineau recorded about 4,520 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 6,310 property crimes and 3,800 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 Gatineau
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gatineau | 306,105 | 67.5 | 100.1 | — |
| Rivière-Gatineau | 14,875 | 67.5 | 100.1 | B− |
| La Cité | 30,930 | 67.5 | 100.1 | B− |
| New Edinburgh | 5,728 | 54.7 | 66 | C+ |
| Centre-Ville | 12,981 | 67.5 | 100.1 | B− |
| Lowertown East | 6,996 | 54.7 | 66 | D |
| Mont-Bleu | 21,636 | 67.5 | 100.1 | B− |
Of 6 places nearby with their own figures, 2 come in under Gatineau. Closest is New Edinburgh, 3.2 km away, at 54.7 to 67.5 here.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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.
- 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.”
- 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.
Questions about safety in Gatineau
Is Gatineau safe?
Its police recorded 14.9 violent incidents and 20.9 property crimes a year per 1,000 residents over 2023–2025, which gives Gatineau a Crime Severity Index of 67.5. The middle of Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more is 60.3.
What is the most common crime in Gatineau?
Theft under $5,000 is the most common, at 7.7 per 1,000 residents a year, then assault (7.4) and fraud (5.7).
Is crime going up in Gatineau?
Barely: 67.8 in 2023, 67.1 in 2025.
How much of Gatineau’s crime do police solve?
Police cleared 45% of crime once each incident is weighted by seriousness: 61% of violent crime and 33% of the rest, against 38% for the typical Canadian town its size.
Whose figures are these?
Its own police: the service or contract that covers Gatineau 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). 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).