Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Estevan sees more crime per resident than 79% of Canadian towns
Split in two, the index gives 136.2 for violence and 90.7 for everything else (normally 89.4 and 56). Typical years here bring 28.2 violent incidents plus 39.0 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents, against 12.0 plus 30.5 in the typical town its size. What’s more, the Safety Grade comes out at C−, drawn from crime the police covering Estevan reported through 2023 to 2025: #17 of 104 in Saskatchewan. The typical town in Saskatchewan scores 118.6 on the same index.
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 Estevan
Mischief: high for a town its size
Estevan records 9.3 incidents of mischief per 1,000 residents a year, against 3.7 in the typical town among Canadian towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people. By type ↓
Above-typical clearance
Police cleared 54% of Estevan’s crime, weighted by seriousness (70% of violent crime, 45% of the rest), against 33% across Canadian towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people. Questions ↓
A higher index than most towns its size
Counting up from the lowest index, Estevan is 33rd of the 40 Canadian towns closest in population. Towns its size ↓
Lighter than in 2023
Between 2023 and 2025, Estevan moved from 116.6 to 97.9, while the typical Canadian town its size went from 69.5 to 60. Year by year ↓
Written from Statistics Canada’s police-reported crime by police service and detachment, 2023–2025. Figures are what police recorded, not convictions.
The C− for Estevan, 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: #17 of 104 in Saskatchewan and #1,936 of 2,572 Canadian towns.
The Crime Severity Index and its two halves, beside the typical figure for Canadian towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people.
Estevan’s crime by kind
Against the typical town its size, Estevan runs highest on mischief (9.3 per 1,000 against 3.7), fraud (10.1 per 1,000 against 5.1) and drug offences (1.5 per 1,000 against 0.8). Sexual assault and motor vehicle theft sit below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0.7 | 0.06 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 5.3 | 0.5 | 100% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 8.3 | 0.7 | 100% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 0.3 | 0.03 | — |
| Robbery | 1 | 0.09 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 1.3 | 0.1 | — |
| Other violent violations | 6.3 | 0.6 | 59% |
| Breaking and entering | 28.7 | 2.6 | 38% |
| Possession of stolen property | 6.3 | 0.6 | 79% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 16 | 1.4 | 52% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 4.3 | 0.4 | — |
| Theft under $5,000 | 163.3 | 14.5 | 31% |
| Mischief | 104.7 | 9.3 | 27% |
| Weapons violations | 6 | 0.5 | 88% |
| Administration of justice violations | 180.7 | 16.1 | 89% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 20.7 | 1.8 | 76% |
| Drug violations | 17 | 1.5 | 69% |
| Impaired driving | 74.7 | 6.6 | 66% |
| 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 10,000 to 50,000 people.
Year by year in Estevan: down 16%, 2023 to 2025
Crime Severity Index
From 116.6 in 2023, its first and heaviest year, it eased to a low of 94.7 in 2024. Set beside it, the typical Canadian town its size went from 69.5 in 2023 to 60 in 2025.
Every year as a table
| Year | Estevan | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 97.9 | 60 |
| 2024 | 94.7 | 67.9 |
| 2023 | 116.6 | 69.5 |
Statistics Canada, Crime Severity Index by police service, each year as published. Typical: the median of Canadian towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people.
The Crime Severity Index of the police covering Estevan, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Among 40 towns its size, Estevan places 33rd
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hamilton Ontario | 11,810 | 25.7 | 30.4 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 11 | Martensville Saskatchewan | 11,808 | 39.9 | 46.5 | A |
| … | |||||
| 28 | Weyburn Saskatchewan | 11,871 | 75.6 | 64.9 | C+ |
| … | |||||
| 30 | Hawkesbury Ontario | 11,451 | 92.7 | 131.7 | C |
| 31 | Lacombe County Alberta | 11,072 | 94.9 | 66.9 | C− |
| 32 | Lethbridge County Alberta | 10,988 | 96 | 62 | C− |
| 33 | Estevan Saskatchewan | 11,391 | 103.1 | 136.2 | C− |
| 34 | Smiths Falls Ontario | 11,093 | 105.1 | 147.6 | C− |
| 35 | La Tuque Quebec | 11,309 | 106.1 | 199 | C− |
| 36 | Yellowhead County Alberta | 10,966 | 120 | 99.2 | D |
| … | |||||
| 40 | Williams Lake British Columbia | 11,462 | 248.9 | 248.6 | 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 Estevan in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Around 320 violent incidents a year on Estevan’s police records (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.
Property crime adds about 440 a year and other violations 410 (2023–2025 average). Of 1,000 dots, one per resident, the coloured ones are a year’s incidents at these rates.
Crime in the places around Estevan
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estevan | 11,391 | 103.1 | 136.2 | C− |
| Estevan No. 5 (5 km) | 1,293 | 76.7 | 48.9 | C+ |
| Oxbow (60 km) | 1,290 | 57.6 | 45 | B |
| Carlyle (75 km) | 1,571 | 126.1 | 169.7 | D |
Nearby, 2 of 3 places with their own figures have a lower index than Estevan. Just 4.5 km away, Estevan No. 5 comes to 76.7, against 103.1.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means. No closer places have figures: these lie 5–75 km from Estevan.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The clearance rate. A crime is cleared when police lay or recommend a charge, or solve it another way; the weighted rate counts serious crimes for more.
- Severity, weighed. 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.”
- What 100 means. Statistics Canada set the national index at 100 for 2006; every figure here is read against that.
Questions about safety in Estevan
Is Estevan safe?
Its police recorded 28.2 violent incidents and 39 property crimes a year per 1,000 residents over 2023–2025, which gives Estevan a Crime Severity Index of 103.1. In the middle of Canadian towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people the figure is 66.
What is the most common crime in Estevan?
Most often it is other Criminal Code offences: 24.2 per 1,000 residents a year. Next come theft under $5,000 at 14.5 and fraud at 10.1.
Is crime going up in Estevan?
It went down 16% between 2023 and 2025, from 116.6 to 97.9.
How much of Estevan’s crime do police solve?
Weighted by seriousness, police cleared 54% of crime (70% of violent crime, 45% of the rest). The typical Canadian town its size clears 33%.
Whose figures are these?
Its own police: the service or contract that covers Estevan 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) · 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).