Is Windsor safe? What the crime numbers mean for your home and business

By the numbers, Windsor is safer than the average Canadian city, and it got safer in 2025. Statistics Canada's Crime Severity Index for the Windsor area was 55.4 in 2025, down 12% from 2024. The figure for Canada as a whole was 75.0. A lower number means less crime, weighted by how serious it is.

That does not mean nothing happens. Property crime is still the most common kind of crime in Windsor-Essex, and it is the kind a homeowner or business owner can do the most about.

Two sources are worth knowing, and both are free to check.

• Statistics Canada's Crime Severity Index (CSI). Published every July for the year before. It covers the Windsor census metropolitan area, which takes in Windsor, LaSalle, Tecumseh, Lakeshore and Amherstburg. The 2025 index was 55.4, a 12% drop on 2024, against 75.0 for Canada.
• Windsor Police Service year-end figures. For 2025, Windsor Police reported 10,162 crimes against property, down from 11,501 in 2024 (an 11.6% drop). Break and enters fell from 1,252 to 906, a drop of about 28%. Thefts fell from 6,775 to 5,856.

Police also reported that the overall severity of crime in Windsor and Amherstburg (which Windsor Police serves) fell by about 10% in 2025, with non-violent crime down 14%.

Figures are for calendar year 2025 and were the latest published when this guide was written in October 2026. Sources are listed at the end.

City-wide figures are useful for the big picture, but they say little about your street. A few things to keep in mind:

• Crime is uneven. Most neighbourhoods see far less than the average, and a few see much more. The same is true in every city.
• A drop is not a guarantee. 906 break and enters in a year is still more than two a day in Windsor alone.
• Rankings get misread. Online lists of "most dangerous cities" often mix different years, different areas and different measures. The CSI is the fairest comparison between cities because it weighs serious crimes more heavily than minor ones.
• Not everything is reported. Thefts of small items from cars, yards and porches often never reach police, so the real number of these is higher.

Windsor Police publishes recent incidents online through its open data and crime reports pages at windsorpolice.ca. You can filter by type of incident and look at your neighbourhood or the streets around your business.

When you look, check three things:

1. What kind of incidents happen nearby. Vehicle thefts and thefts from vehicles call for different steps than break and enters.
2. When they happen. Daytime break-ins at homes usually mean empty houses during work hours. Overnight incidents at businesses point to after-hours protection.
3. Whether there is a pattern. Several incidents on the same few streets in a month are worth acting on, even in an area that is quiet overall.

Elsewhere in Essex County (Leamington, Kingsville, Lakeshore, Tecumseh, LaSalle and others) policing is provided by the OPP or local services, which publish their own updates.

• Theft from vehicles. Unlocked cars and items left in view are the easiest target there is.
• Vehicle theft. Especially of trucks and SUVs, often from driveways overnight.
• Parcel theft. Busiest from November to January, when deliveries peak.
• Break and enter at homes. Most often through a back or side door, a basement window or an attached garage.
• Break and enter at businesses. Often overnight or on long weekends, aimed at cash, tools, copper and electronics.
• Theft from garages and sheds. Bikes, tools and equipment, especially where doors are left open.

1. Close the easy gaps first. Lock cars, garages and side doors every night. Keep valuables out of sight in vehicles. Most thefts are opportunistic, and these habits stop many of them on their own.
2. Light the outside. Motion lights over the driveway, back door and side yard make a property less attractive, and make camera footage more useful.
3. See who comes to the door. A video doorbell lets you answer from anywhere and records anyone who takes a parcel. See our home cameras and doorbells page.
4. Use an alarm that someone watches. A siren alone often gets ignored. A monitored alarm sends the signal to a monitoring station that checks it and calls you, your contacts or police. See 24/7 alarm monitoring.
5. For businesses, control keys and codes. Remove access for staff who leave, use separate alarm codes for each person, and point cameras at doors, tills and loading areas. See business security and access control.

None of this needs to be expensive or done all at once. Start with what the crime map and your own experience say is most likely where you are.

• Statistics Canada, Police-reported Crime Severity Index and crime rate, by census metropolitan area, 2025 (The Daily, July 2026).
• Windsor Police Service 2025 year-end figures, as reported by AM800 CKLW, January 2026.
• Windsor Police Service crime severity figures, as reported by Sarnia News Today, July 2026.
• Windsor Police Service crime reports and open data.

Want to know what would make the biggest difference at your place? We offer a free security site survey for homes and businesses across Windsor-Essex. We will walk the property with you and tell you plainly what is worth doing and what is not. Call (519) 948-5595, our toll free number 1-800-265-9605, or request a free site survey.