Photo: rd laloche · CC BY 2.0Per resident, La Loche records more crime than almost every Canadian town
Against usual levels of 85.7 and 62.8, violent and non-violent offences here reach 1,524.7 and 949.4. Graded on crime the police covering La Loche reported from 2023 to 2025, it scores D− for safety. On top of that, recorded violent incidents ran at 250.6 per 1,000 residents a year and property crime at 441.7, against 12.9 and 31.2 in the typical town its size.
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. Measured across the La Loche detachment area: crime severity and crime rate.
What stands out about safety in La Loche
Mischief: high for a town its size
La Loche records 333.9 incidents of mischief per 1,000 residents a year, against 4.9 in the typical town among Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people. By type ↓
Over the Saskatchewan norm
Set among Saskatchewan’s towns, whose median is 118.6, La Loche scores 1,107. Towns its size ↓
A higher index than most towns its size
Counting up from the lowest index, La Loche is 40th of the 40 Canadian towns closest in population. 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.
La Loche: D− for safety, and why
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 to 10,000 people.
What police record in La Loche, by type
Against the typical town its size, La Loche runs highest on mischief (333.9 per 1,000 against 4.9), drug offences (31.7 per 1,000 against 0.7) and assault (167.7 per 1,000 against 6.7).
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0.7 | 0.2 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 10 | 2.6 | 63% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 36.7 | 9.4 | 99% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 19.3 | 4.9 | 26% |
| Robbery | 26.7 | 6.8 | 67% |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 7.7 | 1.9 | 87% |
| Other violent violations | 8.3 | 2.2 | 45% |
| Breaking and entering | 113.7 | 28.7 | 24% |
| Possession of stolen property | 11.7 | 3 | 23% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 63 | 16 | 11% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 6 | 1.5 | 17% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 181.3 | 46.1 | 14% |
| Mischief | 1,306 | 333.9 | 18% |
| Weapons violations | 71.3 | 18.2 | 34% |
| Administration of justice violations | 533.7 | 136.4 | 73% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 92.3 | 23.6 | 48% |
| Drug violations | 124 | 31.7 | 9% |
| Impaired driving | 166.7 | 42.9 | 27% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 5 | 1.3 | 46% |
Statistics Canada’s violation groups for the whole police service or detachment: incidents a year are its own, the town’s share is only estimated in the tiles. 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.
La Loche comes 40th of the 40 towns nearest in size
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adelaide-Metcalfe Ontario | 3,196 | 25.7 | 29 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 34 | Tisdale Saskatchewan | 3,052 | 123.4 | 132.5 | D |
| … | |||||
| 37 | Thorhild County Alberta | 3,147 | 167.5 | 126.8 | D |
| 38 | Roblin Manitoba | 3,184 | 252.3 | 341.3 | D |
| 39 | Enniskillen Ontario | 3,174 | 333.9 | 378.3 | D− |
| 40 | La Loche Saskatchewan | 3,124 | 1,107 | 1,524.7 | 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 Loche in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
The index in La Loche, each year
Crime Severity Index
At 1,327.1, 2024 topped the three years, and 2023 was lowest at 964.4. In the same years the typical Canadian town its size read 74.3 (2023), then 64.2 (2025).
Every year as a table
| Year | La Loche | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1,029.4 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 1,327.1 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 964.4 | 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 Loche, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Crime in the places around La Loche
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Loche | 3,124 | 1,107 | 1,524.7 | D− |
| Buffalo Narrows (91 km) | 1,064 | 892.7 | 1,165.3 | D− |
| Fort McMurray (125 km) | 81,611 | 124.5 | 117.5 | D |
| Île-à-la-Crosse (149 km) | 1,484 | 387.8 | 552.5 | D− |
Every neighbour with a figure of its own has a lower index than La Loche. Closest is Buffalo Narrows, 90.8 km away, at 892.7 to 1,107 here.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means. The nearest places to La Loche with figures are 91–149 km away.
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. 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.
- Few people behind the figures. With roughly 4,131 residents in its police area, a few cases swing the figures. In Statistics Canada’s words, “Data for police services or detachments with populations less than 5,000 should be used with caution.”
- Shared with the countryside. Detachment figures cover the detachment’s whole area: La Loche together with the countryside and smaller places it polices.
- The index’s scale. Canada’s own index has been below its 2006 base of 100 for years, so 100 marks a fixed reference, not today’s national average.
Questions about safety in La Loche
Is La Loche safe?
Statistics Canada puts La Loche at 1,107 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 250.6 and property crimes at 441.7 per 1,000 residents a year.
What is the most common crime in La Loche?
Police record mischief most, 333.9 per 1,000 residents a year, ahead of other Criminal Code offences (273.2) and assault (167.7).
Is crime going up in La Loche?
It went up 7% between 2023 and 2025, from 964.4 to 1,029.4. A small or partial count makes this change uncertain.
How much of La Loche’s crime do police solve?
Weighted by seriousness, police cleared 37% of crime (57% of violent crime, 25% of the rest). The typical Canadian town its size clears 34%.
Whose figures are these?
Those of the police serving La Loche together with its neighbours or the countryside around it.
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).