Photo: P199 · Public domainLac Simon sees more crime per resident than almost any other Canadian town
For every 1,000 residents, 294.1 violent incidents and 135.1 incidents of property crime were logged a year; in the typical Canadian town of 2,500+, the figures are 12.0 and 31.2. Add to that, on crime the police covering Lac Simon reported from 2023 to 2025, it grades D− for safety. Split in two, the index gives 1,940.4 for violence and 342.8 for everything else (normally 86.4 and 62.8).
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 Lac Simon
Sexual assault: high for a town its size
Lac Simon records 19.3 incidents of sexual assault per 1,000 residents a year, against 0.8 in the typical town among Canadian towns of 2,500 people or more. By type ↓
Heavier on violence
Lac Simon’s index splits into violent crime, 1,940.4 here and 86.4 for the typical Canadian town of 2,500+, and everything else, 342.8 against 62.8. By type ↓
Heavier than Quebec’s middle
Within Quebec, the median town comes to 56.1 on the index, against 794.3 in Lac Simon. Towns its size ↓
Above-typical clearance
For Canadian towns of 2,500 people or more the typical clearance rate is 34%; Lac Simon’s police clear 91%, 91% of violent crime and 95% of the rest. Questions ↓
Written from Statistics Canada’s police-reported crime by police service and detachment, 2023–2025. Figures are what police recorded, not convictions.
The D− for Lac Simon, 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.
The Crime Severity Index and its two halves, beside the typical figure for Canadian towns of 2,500 people or more.
What police record in Lac Simon, by type
Against the typical town its size, Lac Simon runs highest on sexual assault (19.3 per 1,000 against 0.8), mischief (89.7 per 1,000 against 4.2) and assault (125.1 per 1,000 against 6.7).
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0.7 | 0.5 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 16.7 | 12.2 | 84% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 10.3 | 7.4 | 94% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 1.7 | 1.2 | — |
| Robbery | 3.3 | 2.5 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 5.3 | 3.9 | 100% |
| Other violent violations | 4 | 2.9 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 25.7 | 18.8 | 100% |
| Possession of stolen property | 0.3 | 0.3 | — |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 1 | 0.7 | — |
| Theft over $5,000 | 1.7 | 1.2 | — |
| Theft under $5,000 | 27.7 | 20 | 72% |
| Mischief | 122.3 | 89.7 | 37% |
| Weapons violations | 9.3 | 6.8 | 100% |
| Administration of justice violations | 78.3 | 57.5 | 100% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 22.3 | 16.4 | 100% |
| Drug violations | 15.3 | 11.2 | 100% |
| Impaired driving | 3.7 | 2.7 | — |
| 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 2,500 people or more.
Police in Lac Simon recorded about 400 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.
And about 180 property crimes, plus 150 other violations, a year (2023–2025 average). Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot, one incident a year at the area’s rates.
The index in Lac Simon, each year
Crime Severity Index
2024 stands out as the heaviest year at 917.2, with 2025 the lightest at 712.4. The typical Canadian town of 2,500+ went from 70.6 in 2023 to 62.9 in 2025.
Every year as a table
| Year | Lac Simon | Typical town of 2,500+ |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 712.4 | 62.9 |
| 2024 | 917.2 | 68.5 |
| 2023 | 753.1 | 70.6 |
Statistics Canada, Crime Severity Index by police service, each year as published. Typical: the median of Canadian towns of 2,500 people or more.
The Crime Severity Index of the police covering Lac Simon, each year, against the typical Canadian town of 2,500+.
Crime in the places around Lac Simon
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lac Simon | 1,403 | 794.3 | 1,940.4 | D− |
| Senneterre (23 km) | 1,189 | 103.6 | 183.5 | C− |
| Val-d'Or (33 km) | 33,353 | 103.6 | 183.5 | C− |
| Senneterre (37 km) | 2,832 | 103.6 | 183.5 | C− |
| Barraute (47 km) | 1,939 | 78.7 | 145.2 | C |
Each neighbour with its own figure comes in under Lac Simon. Senneterre, 22.8 km away, is the nearest lower one, at 103.6 to 794.3.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means. No closer places have figures: these lie 23–47 km from Lac Simon.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Reading the number. 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.
- Solved cases. 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.
- How serious, not how safe. The Crime Severity Index adds up police-reported crime, each kind weighted by the sentences courts give it, so one robbery counts for more than many thefts. In Statistics Canada’s words, “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.”
- Read with care. The police behind these figures serve about 1,403 people, so a handful of incidents moves every rate. Statistics Canada’s note: “Data for police services or detachments with populations less than 5,000 should be used with caution.”
Questions about safety in Lac Simon
Is Lac Simon safe?
Lac Simon’s Crime Severity Index is 794.3 (2023–2025 mean); its police record 294.1 violent incidents and 135.1 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year. In the middle of Canadian towns of 2,500 people or more the figure is 67.2.
What is the most common crime in Lac Simon?
Most often it is assault: 125.1 per 1,000 residents a year. Next come other Criminal Code offences at 93.7 and mischief at 89.7.
Is crime going up in Lac Simon?
It went down 5% between 2023 and 2025, from 753.1 to 712.4. With few people or missing years behind it, the change is a rough one.
How much of Lac Simon’s crime do police solve?
About 91% of crime is cleared, weighted by seriousness, with 91% of violent and 95% of other crime; the figure for the typical Canadian town of 2,500+ is 34%.
Whose figures are these?
A police service or contract that serves Lac Simon alone, so the figures are the town’s.
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).