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REPORT RAPPORT |
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REPORT RAPPORT |
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DATE: |
15 July 2007 |
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TO: |
Executive Director, Ottawa Police Services Board |
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FROM: |
Chief of Police, Ottawa Police Service |
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SUBJECT: |
2006 CRIME &
POLICE STATISTICS |
RECOMMENDATION
The Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics (CCJS) publishes national, provincial and census metropolitan crime rate statistics each July. The annual Crime Rates in Canada report only includes rates for selected Criminal Code categories and offences, and only at the Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) level for Ottawa.
In past years, the Ottawa Police included crime statistics in its annual Activity Report. As part of the performance measurement initiative, a more comprehensive compendium of annual crime and police statistics has been prepared for the community.
This information is in addition to other reporting on policing contained in the quarterly performance report and data presented to the Board, along with statistics forwarded to the City as part of the Ontario Municipal Benchmarking Initiative (OMBI).
DISCUSSION
The 2006 Crime Rates in Canada Juristat released on 18 July reported the total Criminal Code offences (excluding traffic) at 5,775 per 100,000 residents in the Ottawa CMA[1], placing Ottawa sixth lowest among the nine largest CMAs, and 19th of the 27 CMAs in Canada. The total crime rate at the CMA level decreased modestly (-0.7%) from 2005. The Gatineau portion of the CMA experienced a 1.7 percent increase in the total crime rate, to 5,645.
Ottawa Crime
Statistics[2],
2006 Summary[3]
The total number of Criminal Code incidents (excluding traffic) in the City remained virtually unchanged between 2005 and 2006 (48,244 vs. 48,293 respectively), and is below the five-year average of 49,997 incidents. Similarly, when accounting for population growth, the crime rate for Violent, Property and Other Criminal Code offences remained stable in 2006.
Over 9,800 adults and youths were charged with various Criminal Code offences (+1.0%), while another 2,600 youths were not charged, but streamed into diversion programs under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. The clearance rate for all Criminal Code offences (excluding traffic) was 30.4 percent, up from 28.1 percent in 2005.
Additional highlights are noted below and more details are contained in the attached report which will also be posted to the Ottawa Police website (www.ottawapolice.ca).
Violent Crime – With a five percent decrease in the number of crimes of violence, Ottawa reported the lowest violent crime rate (including offences such as homicide, assault, sexual assault and robbery) among the 27 CMAs in the country. The reduction in the number of reported assaults was a large factor in this five percent decrease (4,539 in 2005 to 4,211 in 2006 and -7.2%). At the same time, there were 16 homicides in Ottawa during 2006, five more than in 2005, and robberies increased by 45 incidents.
Property Crime – Property crimes in Ottawa (including offences such as break-ins, thefts, and frauds) held steady in 2006 and are well below the five-year average. With a 12 percent reduction in break-ins, Ottawa had the third lowest rate of breaking and entering among the 27 CMAs in Canada. Much of this can be attributed to break-ins being an operational focus of the districts in 2006 and the resulting targeted management of habitual offenders, crime analysis, plus individual and community based prevention through home security and Neighbourhood Watch activities. Minor thefts (under $5,000), increased by six percent, but remained below the five-year average.
Other Criminal Code Offences – Other Criminal Code Offences in Ottawa increased by just over two percent in 2006. The top four offences contributing to this increase included Offensive Weapons, Bail Violations, Counterfeiting Currency, and Mischief to Property. Increases in both Offensive Weapons and Bail Violations resulted from proactive police work focusing on the Firearms Amnesty and guns and gangs initiatives, along with compliance checks of bail conditions. The circulation of counterfeit currency across Canada is impacting Ottawa, while the reporting of mischief and vandalism to property is up 7.5 percent.
Youth Crime - The number of youth accused (aged 12-17, both formally charged and dealt with by means other than the laying of a charge) in Ottawa increased slightly from 3,681 in 2005 to 3,788 in 2006 (+2.9%). Youth charged/otherwise in violent offences dropped 15.2 percent, while those involved in property and other criminal code offences increased by 6.2 and 10.2 percent, respectively. The estimated youth crime rate in 2006 is 5,458.2, up 2.6 percent from 2005.
Other Police Statistics, 2006
Under the Integrated Road Safety Plan with City partners, a three-point plan involving the three E’s (education, enforcement, and engineering) is continuing. Ottawa Police traffic and patrol officers issued 135,499 tickets (Provincial Offence Notices) in 2006, the majority of which were for speeding (32%), failure to surrender insurance (10%), and disobey official signs (9%). Other traffic offences under the Highway Traffic Act were up 2 percent in 2006 to 99,844, while other provincial/municipal traffic offences were at levels above the five-year average. During 2006, continued proactive enforcement lead to a 12 percent increase in Criminal Code of Canada traffic offences (dangerous and/or impaired operation of a vehicle, failure to stop, and driving while prohibited) dealt with by the Ottawa Police.
Fatal collisions increased by 11 percent from 19 fatal collisions in 2005 to 21 in 2006, following a decline in the total number of fatal collisions on public roadways for the past two years. Fatalities arising from these collisions rose by 5 percent from 21 in 2005 to 22 in 2006. However, the number of injuries resulting from traffic collisions declined by 3 percent in 2006.
After a 25 percent increase between 2002 and 2004, the volume of calls for service from the public has remained static or declined modestly. Ottawa Police responded to 358,417 calls for service - a two percent decline from 2005. Much of this stabilization resulted from a continued reduction in false alarms in dwellings and/or businesses with alarm systems, and false 9-1-1 calls involving human error (speed dialling, etc.). At the same time, Priority 1 calls (urgent and/or life-threatening situation) represented 20 percent of all calls for service, growing by 2 percent from 2005, and rising above the five-year average.
Ottawa Police strives to respond to Priority 1 Calls for Service (urgent, life threatening situations, or crime in progress) within 15 minutes, 90% of the time. In 2006, front-line police officers responded within 15 minutes 86.5 percent of the time, a 1 percent improvement from the previous year.
On average, Priority 1 response times have improved by nearly a minute since 2003. The average response times for Priority 1 calls in 2006 was 9.3 minutes – 3 percent faster than 2005.
Police response to emergencies has continuously improved over the past three years as the impact of additional investments in front-line resources, together with the decline in false alarms, means that patrol officers are arriving more quickly to emergencies.
The City of Ottawa continues to be one of the safest cities in Ontario and Canada. We will, of course, continue to diligently serve our citizens in a proactive and collaborative manner to ensure that Ottawa remains a very secure community to live, work and visit.
In implementing our 2007-2009 Business Plan, the Ottawa Police will continue to deliver targeted crime management initiatives. Among the key next steps is to translate community input on police priorities and neighbourhood concerns into annual crime reduction targets and report on our successes in reaching these identified targets.
Meanwhile, the Board will continue to receive quarterly updates on Ottawa Police performance. As well, the 2005 Ontario Municipal Benchmarking Initiative (OMBI) report presented to the Board in February offers the Board and the public indicators and data with which to gauge Ottawa Police performance against a provincial median.
Finally, the Ottawa Police will continue to serve on the OMBI Police Expert Panel, the national Police Information and Statistics (POLIS) Committee, Ottawa Vital Signs project, and other venues that contribute to the ongoing discussion and improvement in the quality of life for residents and police performance measures.
Vern White
Chief of Police
Attach. (1)
This
document contains information that reports on activities related to the Ottawa
Police Business Plan.
[1] Ottawa portion of the CMA includes the City of Ottawa, as well as portions of Nation, Casselman, Clarence-Rockland, and Russell.
[2] Ottawa crime data are extracted from the Ottawa Police Records Management System (RMS). Due to continual updating of the system as new information is inputted, some minor variations will be seen between publication dates. As well, crime rate data for OPS is based on annual municipal population estimates prepared by the City’s Development Services Department rather than inter-census estimates from Statistics Canada.
[3] The data presented in this report will differ slightly from the preliminary numbers contained in the 2006 Activity Report as CCJS has now completed its year-end validation process.
