Release of the Ottawa Police 2018 Annual Report

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, June 19, 2019   3:25pm 

(Ottawa) — Today, the Ottawa Police Service’s (OPS) 2018 Annual Report was released as part of the June 24th meeting of the Ottawa Police Services Board agenda.

The 2018 Annual Report offers residents information about Criminal Code of Canada (CCC) offences for the City of Ottawa and 23 City Wards. The information provides residents and visitors with a better understanding of crime, road safety, and calls for service in Ottawa.

Here are some highlights from the report: 

• With approximately 38,900 reported Criminal Code of Canada offences (excluding traffic) in the City of Ottawa, the level of reported crime increased by 13 percent last year.  

• The clearance rate for total Criminal Code offences (excluding traffic) fell slightly in 2018 with 35% of all cases cleared by charge or cleared otherwise. 

• Ottawa’s Crime Severity Index (CSI) rose by eight percent last year to 54 – the Violent CSI increased by seven percent to 64; while the Non-Violent CSI increased by nine percent to 50. 

• The volume of reported non-violent crime in Ottawa increased by 14 percent last year. Theft under $5,000 increased by 18 percent in 2018; Fraud increased by 13 percent; while Break and Enter increased by 12 percent. 

• The volume of reported Violent Crime in Ottawa grew by 10 percent in 2018. This was driven by a rise in Sexual Violations, Robbery, and Assaults resulting from internal process changes, greater public awareness and improved access to reporting online. 

• Of 691,000 calls received in 2018, over 322,800 were entered into the OPS dispatch system, with 73 percent (234,900) requiring an on-scene police presence. This is in line with results from the prior year. 

Context for the rise in reported crime:

Like many major metropolitan centres, since 2016 we have seen a rise in the volume of reported crime. Compared to the most recent results from the General Social Science Survey (2014) on Canadians’ Safety, Ottawa residents are twice as likely to report incidents of crime (70%). 

We continue to monitor the rise in crime. Analysis has confirmed it is in part due to changes in reporting mechanisms (online) and processes (coding). As previously reported, in 2017 new processes were put in place in how the OPS responds to high-frequency but low-risk calls where there is no suspect, no evidence, no immediate danger, or no witnesses to be immediately interviewed at the scene.

Police Reporting Unit (PRU) agents now take reports for incidents that is subsequently followed up on by investigative units. Based on the information provided when reports are received, incidents are now captured as a criminal offence as opposed to a call for service. These reports can include assaults, threats, suspicious incidents, and disturbances.

In addition, Statistics Canada made changes to reporting standards for Uniform Crime Report in 2018 that has an impact on clearance rates and the number of criminal incidents. In response to media attention on the classification of sexual assaults, Statistics Canada amended the definition of founded incidents. The new definition is victim-centered and includes incidents where there is no credible evidence to confirm that an incident did not take place.

Despite the recent increases, the severity and rate of crime in Ottawa remains well below results from a decade ago, and significantly below the national average. The Service continues to work together with our communities to address this emerging trend.

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