Photo: Bouchecl · CC BY-SA 3.0Per resident, La Pocatière records less crime than 82% of Canadian towns
Per 1,000 residents a year, 11.1 violent incidents and 9.8 incidents of property crime were recorded, against 12.9 and 31.2 in the typical town its size. What’s more, that puts it at A− for safety, judged on crime the police covering La Pocatière reported from 2023 to 2025: #87 of 503 in Quebec. Against usual levels of 85.7 and 62.8, violent and non-violent offences here reach 72 and 31. Steady over the three years, the index read 42.1 in 2023 and 40.2 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. Source area for crime severity, crime rate and incident counts: the Kamouraska MRC.
What stands out about safety in La Pocatière
A high clearance rate
Police cleared 58% of La Pocatière’s crime, weighted by seriousness (71% of violent crime, 46% of the rest), against 34% across Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people. Questions ↓
Lower than many towns its size
Set among the 40 Canadian towns closest to it in population, La Pocatière comes 9th, counting from the lowest Crime Severity Index. Towns its size ↓
Violence weighs more than the rest
Set beside the typical Canadian town its size, La Pocatière’s two halves part ways: 72 for violence (typical 85.7) and 31 for the rest (typical 62.8). By type ↓
Below Quebec’s typical town
The typical Quebec town scores 56.1; La Pocatière, 42.5. 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.
What sits behind La Pocatière’s A−
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: #87 of 503 in Quebec and #346 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.
La Pocatière’s crime by kind
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 | 12.7 | 0.6 | 57% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 5.7 | 0.3 | 93% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 1.7 | 0.08 | — |
| Robbery | 1.3 | 0.06 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 5 | 0.2 | 86% |
| Other violent violations | 6.3 | 0.3 | 84% |
| Breaking and entering | 32 | 1.5 | 41% |
| Possession of stolen property | 4 | 0.2 | — |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 13.7 | 0.6 | 42% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 1.3 | 0.06 | — |
| Theft under $5,000 | 49 | 2.3 | 43% |
| Mischief | 42 | 2 | 32% |
| Weapons violations | 11.7 | 0.5 | 79% |
| Administration of justice violations | 43.7 | 2 | 89% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 5.7 | 0.3 | 88% |
| Drug violations | 16.3 | 0.8 | 72% |
| Impaired driving | 38.7 | 1.8 | 99% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 27 | 1.3 | 22% |
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.
Among 40 towns its size, La Pocatière places 9th
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lac-Etchemin Quebec | 4,089 | 30.8 | 48.9 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 6 | Simonds New Brunswick | 4,263 | 37.7 | 35.6 | A |
| 7 | Eganville Ontario | 4,326 | 38.6 | 53.5 | A |
| 8 | Barry's Bay Ontario | 4,151 | 41.5 | 77.6 | A− |
| 9 | La Pocatière Quebec | 4,206 | 42.5 | 72 | A− |
| 10 | Beaupré Quebec | 4,314 | 42.7 | 62.9 | A− |
| 11 | L'Ange-Gardien Quebec | 4,106 | 42.7 | 62.9 | A− |
| 12 | Saint-Ferréol-les-Neiges Quebec | 4,083 | 42.7 | 62.9 | A− |
| … | |||||
| 14 | Carleton-sur-Mer Quebec | 4,175 | 47.7 | 75.4 | B+ |
| 15 | Saint-Ambroise Quebec | 4,262 | 48.7 | 80 | B+ |
| 16 | Métabetchouan--Lac-à-la-Croix Quebec | 4,230 | 49.6 | 81.8 | B+ |
| … | |||||
| 40 | Fort Nelson British Columbia | 4,144 | 263.7 | 376.9 | 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 La Pocatière in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
The police area La Pocatière is part of, 21,500 residents, recorded about 240 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 210 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.
La Pocatière, year by year
Crime Severity Index
Its index peaked in 2024 at 45.1, between two lighter years; the lowest, 2025, came in at 40.2. Over 2023–2025, the typical Canadian town its size moved from 74.3 to 64.2.
Every year as a table
| Year | La Pocatière | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 40.2 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 45.1 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 42.1 | 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 La Pocatière, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Crime in the places around La Pocatière
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Pocatière | 4,206 | 42.5 | 72 | A− |
| Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière | 1,635 | 42.5 | 72 | A− |
| Saint-Pacôme | 1,540 | 42.5 | 72 | A− |
| Rivière-Ouelle | 1,014 | 42.5 | 72 | A− |
| Mont-Carmel | 1,191 | 42.5 | 72 | A− |
Neighbours policed by the same service carry the same figure, so the 4 of them aren’t set against it.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Policed as an MRC. The Sûreté du Québec reports by MRC, so the figures cover every municipality it polices there, La Pocatière among them.
- The index’s scale. Statistics Canada set the national index at 100 for 2006; every figure here is read against that.
- What clearance means. Cleared means solved by police, charged or not; it says nothing about what courts decide.
- An index, not a verdict. Statistics Canada, which publishes the index, attaches a caution: “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.” The number weighs each reported crime by its seriousness before dividing by residents.
Questions about safety in La Pocatière
Is La Pocatière safe?
Statistics Canada puts La Pocatière at 42.5 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 11.1 and property crimes at 9.8 per 1,000 residents a year.
What is the most common crime in La Pocatière?
The three biggest groups are assault at 4.8, Criminal Code traffic offences at 3.7 and fraud at 3, each per 1,000 residents a year.
Is crime going up in La Pocatière?
The index stayed close to where it was, 42.1 in 2023 and 40.2 in 2025.
How much of La Pocatière’s crime do police solve?
58%, by the weighted clearance rate, where the typical Canadian town its size manages 34%. Violent crime is cleared at 71% and non-violent crime at 46%.
Whose figures are these?
A police service or detachment that covers La Pocatière 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).