These are the worst cities for crime in Canada: Numbeo

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Several cities in Canada have been ranked on the global crime index by Numbeo, and many of them have placed among the worst in North America.

Only one Canadian city cracked the top 50 in the global rankings: Surrey, BC. However, seven Canadian cities ranked among the top 100 worst globally.

That makes Surrey the worst place for crime in Canada, according to Numbeo.

Numbeo says the crime index is “an estimation of overall level of crime in a given city or a country.”

“We consider crime levels lower than 20 as very low, crime levels between 20 and 40 as being low, crime levels between 40 and 60 as being moderate, crime levels between 60 and 80 as being high and finally, crime levels higher than 80 as being very high.”

On the opposite side of that is the safety index. Numbeo says a place with a higher safety index is considered safer.

Here’s how Canadian cities fared in Numbeo’s mid-year rankings.

#50 – Surrey, BC

Surrey, BC, has a crime index of 64.58, meaning a high level of crime. However, it has the dubious honour of having the worst crime index in Canada. Vancouver is further down the list with an index of 38.25.

#55 – Lethbridge, Alberta

Lethbridge has a crime index of 63.89, also featuring a high level of crime.

#71 – Red Deer, Alberta

Red Deer has a crime index of 61.56.

#72 – Kelowna, BC

Rounding out the top four worst places for crime in Canada is Kelowna, BC, which also has a high crime index of 61.56.

#81 – Sudbury, Ontario

Sudbury is the fifth worst place for crime in Canada, with a crime index of 60.10, which puts it in the high crime range.

#85 – Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Sault Ste. Marie in Ontario falls under the moderate category, with a crime index of 59.81.

#93 – Winnipeg, Manitoba

Winnipeg, Manitoba, is the last Canadian city in the world’s top 100 worst places for crime. Winnipeg has a crime index of 58.93, which also puts it in the moderate category.

In total, out of 453 cities, 38 Canadian cities were ranked.

The following fall between high and moderate levels of crime:

1	Surrey, Canada	64.58
2	Lethbridge, AB, Canada	63.89
3	Red Deer, Canada	61.75
4	Kelowna, Canada	61.56
5	Sudbury, Canada	60.10
6	Sault Ste. Marie, Canada	59.81
7	Winnipeg, Canada	58.93
8	Oshawa, Canada	55.08
9	Brampton, Canada	54.98
10	Hamilton, Canada	54.53
11	London, Canada	53.59
12	Regina, Canada	52.82
13	Kamloops, Canada	52.63
14	Nanaimo, BC, Canada	49.23
15	Saskatoon, Canada	48.81
16	St.Catharines, Canada	47.42
17	St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada	46.99
18	Moncton, Canada	45.04
19	Edmonton, Canada	44.56
20	Windsor, Canada	43.25
21	Mississauga, Canada	43.06
22	Vaughan, Canada	42.70
23	Toronto, Canada	41.52
24	Halifax, Canada	41.16
25	Kitchener, Canada	40.97

The rest of the Canadian cities feature low or very low levels of crime:

26	Vancouver, Canada	38.25
27	Victoria, Canada	38.05
28	Calgary, Canada	36.82
29	Kingston, Canada	34.17
30	Guelph, Canada	33.17
31	Montreal, Canada	30.99
32	Burlington, Canada	30.00
33	Ottawa, Canada	27.27
34	Richmond Hill, Canada	26.28
35	Oakville, Canada	25.74
36	Markham, Canada	25.15
37	Coquitlam, Canada	22.51
38	Quebec City, Canada	15.14

On the other side of the rankings, the safest city in Canada, which is the fifth safest in the world according to Numbeo, is Quebec City.

Global rankings

The top five worst places in the world for crime, according to the Numbeo crime index, are:

Caracas, Venezuela (83.98)
Pretoria, South Africa (81.98)
Celaya, Mexico (81.80)
San Pedro Sula, Honduras (80.87)
Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea (80.71)

Is this data accurate?

It’s important to note that the numbers in the index are based on surveys from visitors of Numbeo’s website. Numbeo distinguishes between its data and government websites which are usually composed of reported crimes per capita.

Read more about Numbeo’s methodology, and click here for the complete crime index.

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