Photo: Susan Drury from Watson Lake, Canada · CC BY 2.0Watson Lake records more crime per resident than 98% of Canadian towns
About 41% of crime here is cleared by police, set against 34% for the typical Canadian town of 2,500+. Out of every 1,000 residents, 130.6 violent incidents and 225.5 incidents of property crime are reported annually, against 12.0 and 31.2 in the typical Canadian town of 2,500+. A Safety Grade of D− follows from crime the police covering Watson Lake reported over the years 2023 to 2025. Of the two halves, violence comes to 502.8 and other offences to 331, beside norms of 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. Measured across the Watson Lake detachment area: crime severity, crime rate and incident counts.
What stands out about safety in Watson Lake
Mischief: high for a town its size
Watson Lake records 173.8 incidents of mischief per 1,000 residents a year, against 4.2 in the typical town among Canadian towns of 2,500 people or more. By type ↓
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 Watson Lake’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.
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 Watson Lake, by type
Against the typical town its size, Watson Lake runs highest on mischief (173.8 per 1,000 against 4.2), assault (83.7 per 1,000 against 6.7) and drug offences (5.7 per 1,000 against 0.7).
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0 | 0 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 0 | 0 | — |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 4 | 2.8 | — |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 1.3 | 0.9 | — |
| Robbery | 2 | 1.4 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 1 | 0.7 | — |
| Other violent violations | 3.7 | 2.5 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 12 | 8.3 | 25% |
| Possession of stolen property | 1.3 | 0.9 | — |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 8.3 | 5.8 | 36% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 0.3 | 0.2 | — |
| Theft under $5,000 | 38.7 | 26.6 | 21% |
| Mischief | 252 | 173.8 | 35% |
| Weapons violations | 3.3 | 2.3 | — |
| Administration of justice violations | 35.7 | 24.6 | 68% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 10.3 | 7.1 | 39% |
| Drug violations | 8.3 | 5.7 | 12% |
| Impaired driving | 44.3 | 30.6 | 29% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 1 | 0.7 | — |
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.
The police area Watson Lake is part of, 1,430 residents, recorded about 190 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.
Property crime adds about 330 a year and other violations 220 (2023–2025 average). Of 1,000 dots, one per resident, the coloured ones are a year’s incidents at these rates.
Watson Lake’s index, one year at a time
Crime Severity Index
Of the years charted, 2025 weighed most (408.2) and 2023 least (352.2). For the typical Canadian town of 2,500+, 2023 gave 70.6 and 2025 gave 62.9.
Every year as a table
| Year | Watson Lake | Typical town of 2,500+ |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 408.2 | 62.9 |
| 2024 | 373 | 68.5 |
| 2023 | 352.2 | 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 Watson Lake, each year, against the typical Canadian town of 2,500+.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Shared with the countryside. The detachment counts crime across its whole territory, of which Watson Lake is one part.
- The index’s scale. A reading of 100 is the whole country in 2006. Half of that, 50, means half the severity per resident.
- 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 index weighs crimes rather than counting them: a serious offence moves it far more than a minor one. Statistics Canada is plain about its limits: “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.”
- Few people behind the figures. About 1,434 people live in the area these figures cover; at that size one bad year shows up large. Statistics Canada says: “Data for police services or detachments with populations less than 5,000 should be used with caution.”
Questions about safety in Watson Lake
Is Watson Lake safe?
Against a typical 67.2 for Canadian towns of 2,500 people or more, Watson Lake’s Crime Severity Index stands at 377.8 for 2023–2025. Its police record 130.6 violent incidents and 225.5 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year.
What is the most common crime in Watson Lake?
Most often it is mischief: 173.8 per 1,000 residents a year. Next come other Criminal Code offences at 110.5 and assault at 83.7.
Is crime going up in Watson Lake?
It has: 352.2 in 2023 became 408.2 by 2025, a rise of 16%. With few people or missing years behind it, the change is a rough one.
How much of Watson Lake’s crime do police solve?
Counting serious crimes for more, 41% end in a charge or are otherwise solved (34% for the typical Canadian town of 2,500+); split up, that is 54% of violent and 32% of non-violent crime.
Whose figures are these?
A police service or detachment that covers Watson Lake 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).