They gave us data, explained what is affecting Newmarket’s numbers and pointed us to more public information. Residents can still ask hard questions about crime and policing. We should. But based on the response we received, it would not be fair to say they are doing nothing or refusing to answer. In this case, they showed up and explained the record.
The number that started this story was simple. Newmarket’s 2025 crime rate was 5,380.1 incidents per 100,000 people. The York Region rate was 4,053.6.
At first glance, that gap looks alarming. It also raises an obvious question. Why is Newmarket so much higher?
Now we have an important part of the answer.
The courthouse changes the picture
The Police Service Board says Newmarket’s courthouse contributes to the town’s crime rate because some court related offences are recorded here in unusually high numbers.
The Board identified three offence codes tied to court activity: bail violations or failure to comply, fail to appear offences, and breach of probation.
That cuts roughly half of the gap between Newmarket and the York Region rate.
Newmarket would still be above the regional number. There is still a real public safety question here. But the headline number does not mean every part of that difference comes from crime happening in Newmarket homes, businesses and neighbourhoods.
That is a major distinction, and residents deserve to know it.
The trend is not all going in one direction
Newmarket recorded 5,084 criminal incidents in 2025, down from 5,209 in 2024. That is a 2.4 per cent drop.
The separate slides presented to Newmarket Council also show a mixed picture through August 2025. Overall crime was down 1 per cent compared with the same period in 2024. Property crime was down 13 per cent. Violent crime was up 8 per cent.
So there is no honest one line answer such as “crime is exploding” or “everything is fine.” Some categories went down. Others went up. The courthouse also affects the total.
What the Board is responsible for
The Police Service Board told us it does not decide where individual frontline officers are sent. Those decisions are handled by police leadership.
The Board’s job is oversight. It sets policy, priorities and objectives, and it monitors the performance of police leadership.
The Board also said the 2026 to 2029 strategic plan will be used to measure results from the police budget and new hiring. That matters because York Regional Police has a 2026 operating budget of $499 million and 150 additional positions.
Residents should be able to see whether those added resources make a difference. That is a fair question, and it is one we will keep following.
What changed after we asked
When we started this article, the crime rate made Newmarket look like a clear outlier.
After the Board’s response, the story is more complete.
The gap is real. The courthouse explains a significant part of it. Total criminal incidents fell in 2025. Some important categories still moved the wrong way. And the police and their civilian Board are providing information that helps residents understand what the numbers actually mean.
That is exactly why we ask before we accuse.
What we will keep asking
We still want clearer Newmarket level information on calls for service, where incidents are concentrated, workload inside #1 District and how added police resources affect this town.
When those answers come in, we will publish them. If they change the story again, we will change the story again.
Where the numbers came from
Written response received September 2026. It includes the 2024 and 2025 crime rate comparison, the courthouse explanation, the adjusted 4,712 crime rate, governance information and the Board’s approach to measuring the 2026 to 2029 strategic plan. Copy on file with NewmarketStandUp.
Five year York Region and Newmarket crime statistics, including January to August 2025 comparisons. Slides supplied by the Police Service Board with its response.
Municipal crime rates and offence counts.
Open YRP reportPublic information on the 2026 police budget and staffing.
Open Board budget pagePublic information about the district serving Newmarket, Aurora, East Gwillimbury and King.
Open #1 District pageSeptember 17, 2026: This article was rewritten after NewmarketStandUp received a detailed response and supporting crime statistics from the York Regional Police Service Board. The response provided important context about court related offences and Newmarket’s crime rate. The article has been shortened and updated to reflect that information.
NewmarketStandUp follows the record. When new information changes the picture, the article changes with it.