Photo: Gabriel Picard · CC BY-SA 4.0Per resident, Princeville records less crime than three in five Canadian towns
Its police logs show 15.0 violent incidents and 16.4 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. Still, from 2023 to 2025, crime the police covering Princeville reported put it at B for safety: #238 of 503 in Quebec. Against usual levels of 85.7 and 62.8, violent and non-violent offences here reach 81.9 and 45.5. None of the 4 towns next door with figures records less crime per resident.
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. Crime severity, crime rate and incident counts: the Érable MRC.
What stands out about safety in Princeville
Police clear more here
Weighted by seriousness, 55% of crime in Princeville ends in a charge or is otherwise solved: 73% of violent crime and 42% of the rest. Across Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people the figure is 34%. Questions ↓
Less severe than in 2023
In 2023 the index in Princeville stood at 60.7, by 2025 at 50.1. Over the same years the typical Canadian town its size went from 74.3 to 64.2. Year by year ↓
In the middle of towns its size
Set among the 40 Canadian towns closest to it in population, Princeville comes 18th, counting from the lowest Crime Severity Index. Towns its size ↓
Close to Quebec’s typical town
The typical Quebec town scores 56.1; Princeville, 55.6. 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 Princeville’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: #238 of 503 in Quebec and #726 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 Princeville’s figures
Against the typical town its size, Princeville runs highest on assault (7.8 per 1,000 against 6.7). Mischief and theft under $5,000 sit below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0.3 | 0.01 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 15 | 0.6 | 71% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 4.7 | 0.2 | — |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 0 | 0 | — |
| Robbery | 2.3 | 0.10 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 3 | 0.1 | — |
| Other violent violations | 4.7 | 0.2 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 61.7 | 2.5 | 34% |
| Possession of stolen property | 8 | 0.3 | 54% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 41.3 | 1.7 | 17% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 11 | 0.4 | 18% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 99.7 | 4.1 | 53% |
| Mischief | 63.7 | 2.6 | 39% |
| Weapons violations | 4.7 | 0.2 | — |
| Administration of justice violations | 42 | 1.7 | 86% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 8.3 | 0.3 | 69% |
| Drug violations | 18.7 | 0.8 | 57% |
| Impaired driving | 35 | 1.4 | 98% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 36 | 1.5 | 17% |
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, Princeville’s index dropped 17%
Crime Severity Index
2023 opened the run as its heaviest year (60.7); 2025 was the lightest, at 50.1. Over 2023–2025, the typical Canadian town its size moved from 74.3 to 64.2.
Every year as a table
| Year | Princeville | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 50.1 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 55.9 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 60.7 | 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 Princeville, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
The police area Princeville is part of, 24,500 residents, recorded about 370 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 400 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.
By its index, Princeville stands 18th of 40 towns its size
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beresford New Brunswick | 6,543 | 25 | 35.4 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 3 | Pontiac Quebec | 6,490 | 29.4 | 51.6 | A+ |
| 4 | Pointe-Calumet Quebec | 6,427 | 30.8 | 56.8 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 7 | McMasterville Quebec | 6,114 | 37.1 | 58.5 | A |
| … | |||||
| 10 | Les Coteaux Quebec | 6,294 | 39.2 | 61.7 | A |
| … | |||||
| 15 | Tweed Ontario | 6,504 | 46.8 | 68 | B+ |
| 16 | Ste. Anne Manitoba | 6,387 | 48.1 | 54.1 | B+ |
| 17 | Saint-Césaire Quebec | 6,150 | 55 | 88.5 | B |
| 18 | Princeville Quebec | 6,400 | 55.6 | 81.9 | B |
| 19 | Oliver Paipoonge Ontario | 6,524 | 62.7 | 107.8 | B− |
| 20 | Electoral Area A, Cariboo British Columbia | 6,172 | 63.3 | 76.4 | B− |
| 21 | Antigonish County, Subdivision B Nova Scotia | 6,486 | 66.6 | 81.7 | B− |
| … | |||||
| 40 | St. Paul Alberta | 6,218 | 364.7 | 364.4 | 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 Princeville in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Crime in the places around Princeville
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Princeville | 6,400 | 55.6 | 81.9 | B |
| Saint-Norbert-d'Arthabaska | 1,291 | 55 | 86.5 | B |
| Plessisville | 6,774 | 55.6 | 81.9 | B |
| Plessisville | 2,718 | 55.6 | 81.9 | B |
| Saint-Louis-de-Blandford | 1,066 | 55 | 86.5 | B |
| Victoriaville | 49,863 | 55 | 86.5 | B |
| Saint-Christophe-d'Arthabaska | 3,307 | 55 | 86.5 | B |
The places around Princeville all score lower on the index. The nearest of them, Saint-Norbert-d'Arthabaska (8.4 km away), scores 55 against 55.6. Same police, same number: 2 neighbours drop out of the comparison for that reason.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 100 is Canada in 2006. 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.
- Cleared, not convicted. 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.
- What the index measures. Statistics Canada builds the index from every crime police record, weighted by how seriously the courts treat it, and divides by the population. It adds a warning of its own: “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.”
- Shared across the MRC. The Sûreté du Québec’s figures are for its MRC as a whole, not for Princeville alone.
Questions about safety in Princeville
Is Princeville safe?
Princeville’s Crime Severity Index is 55.6 (2023–2025 mean); its police record 15 violent incidents and 16.4 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year. For Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, the typical index is 68.5.
What is the most common crime in Princeville?
Assault is the most common, at 7.8 per 1,000 residents a year, then fraud (4.4) and theft under $5,000 (4.1).
Is crime going up in Princeville?
It went down 17% between 2023 and 2025, from 60.7 to 50.1.
How much of Princeville’s crime do police solve?
Weighted by seriousness, police cleared 55% of crime (73% of violent crime, 42% of the rest). The typical Canadian town its size clears 34%.
Whose figures are these?
A police service or detachment that covers Princeville 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).