Photo: simpleinsomnia · CC BY 2.0Per resident, Melfort records more crime than 90% of Canadian towns
Police cleared 40% of incidents, weighted by seriousness, against 34% for the typical Canadian town its size. Annual rates stand at 24.0 violent incidents and 69.6 incidents of property crime for every thousand residents, next to 12.9 and 31.2 in the typical town its size. Add to that, on the record of crime the police covering Melfort reported from 2023 to 2025, it takes D for safety: #92 of 104 in Saskatchewan. Violence accounts for an index of 143.9 and other offences for 146.5, against usual levels of 85.7 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 Melfort
Mischief: high for a town its size
Melfort records 35.2 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 ↓
A higher index than most towns its size
Set among the 40 Canadian towns closest to it in population, Melfort comes 35th, counting from the lowest Crime Severity Index. Towns its size ↓
Easing since 2023
Melfort’s index went from 156 in 2023 to 127.8 in 2025; the typical Canadian town its size moved from 74.3 to 64.2. Year by year ↓
Above Saskatchewan’s typical town
The typical Saskatchewan town scores 118.6; Melfort, 144.9. 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 Melfort’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: #92 of 104 in Saskatchewan and #2,458 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 Melfort’s figures
Against the typical town its size, Melfort runs highest on mischief (35.2 per 1,000 against 4.9), break and enter (7.7 per 1,000 against 2.8) and drug offences (1.9 per 1,000 against 0.7).
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0.3 | 0.06 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 2.7 | 0.4 | — |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 4.3 | 0.7 | — |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 1.7 | 0.3 | — |
| Robbery | 2 | 0.3 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 0.7 | 0.1 | — |
| Other violent violations | 3 | 0.5 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 46.7 | 7.7 | 19% |
| Possession of stolen property | 8 | 1.3 | 41% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 34.3 | 5.7 | 23% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 4 | 0.7 | — |
| Theft under $5,000 | 79.3 | 13.1 | 26% |
| Mischief | 213.7 | 35.2 | 19% |
| Weapons violations | 11 | 1.8 | 48% |
| Administration of justice violations | 177.3 | 29.3 | 90% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 15.7 | 2.6 | 55% |
| Drug violations | 11.3 | 1.9 | 9% |
| Impaired driving | 30.3 | 5 | 31% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 0.7 | 0.1 | — |
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, Melfort’s index dropped 18%
Crime Severity Index
Nothing since 2023 has matched that year’s 156; the lightest was 2025, at 127.8. Over 2023–2025, the typical Canadian town its size moved from 74.3 to 64.2.
Every year as a table
| Year | Melfort | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 127.8 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 150.9 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 156 | 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 Melfort, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Melfort comes 35th of the 40 towns nearest in size
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | East Ferris Ontario | 5,835 | 17.7 | 27.2 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 32 | Stettler Alberta | 6,035 | 108.4 | 89.2 | C− |
| 33 | Creston British Columbia | 5,976 | 111.2 | 103.1 | C− |
| 34 | Vegreville Alberta | 6,153 | 138.4 | 107.9 | D |
| 35 | Melfort Saskatchewan | 6,028 | 144.9 | 143.9 | D |
| 36 | Cochrane Ontario | 5,948 | 145.5 | 191 | D |
| 37 | Woodstock New Brunswick | 6,260 | 153.7 | 132.1 | D |
| 38 | Sioux Lookout Ontario | 6,122 | 267.2 | 543.5 | D |
| … | |||||
| 40 | Duncan British Columbia | 5,745 | 384.5 | 331.1 | 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 Melfort in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Melfort’s police: about 150 violent incidents a year over 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 420 property crimes, plus 350 other violations, a year (2023–2025 average). Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot, one incident a year at the area’s rates.
Crime in the places around Melfort
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Melfort | 6,028 | 144.9 | 143.9 | D |
| Tisdale (37 km) | 3,052 | 123.4 | 132.5 | D |
| Birch Hills (57 km) | 1,093 | 332.1 | 425.8 | D− |
| Torch River No. 488 (66 km) | 1,277 | 182.3 | 163.9 | D |
| Nipawin (68 km) | 5,033 | 182.3 | 163.9 | D |
| St. Louis No. 431 (76 km) | 1,080 | 117.5 | 147.4 | C− |
Melfort sits above 2 of the 5 neighbours with figures of their own. Closest is Tisdale, 37.3 km away, at 123.4 to 144.9 here.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means. The nearest places to Melfort with figures are 37–76 km away.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What clearance means. The clearance rate is the share of incidents police solve, by a charge or otherwise, weighted by seriousness like the index. It isn’t a conviction rate.
- An index, not a verdict. 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.”
- 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 Melfort
Is Melfort safe?
Melfort scores 144.9 on Statistics Canada’s Crime Severity Index (2023–2025 mean), where the typical figure for Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people is 68.5; per 1,000 residents a year that is 24 violent incidents and 69.6 property crimes.
What is the most common crime in Melfort?
Other Criminal Code offences is the most common, at 47.7 per 1,000 residents a year, then mischief (35.2) and theft under $5,000 (13.1).
Is crime going up in Melfort?
No: the index fell 18%, from 156 in 2023 to 127.8 in 2025.
How much of Melfort’s crime do police solve?
Police solve 62% of violent crime and 31% of everything else, 40% overall once each crime is weighted by seriousness, against 34% for the typical Canadian town its size.
Whose figures are these?
A police service or contract that serves Melfort 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).