2011 CRIME, POLICE, AND TRAFFIC STATISTICS REPORT

RECOMMENDATION

That the Ottawa Police Services Board receive this report for information.

BACKGROUND

The 2011: A Year in Review annual report presented to the Police Services Board on 28 May 2012 contained preliminary crime and call for police assistance data. As part of an ongoing performance measurement initiative, a more detailed summary of crime and police statistics is prepared annually for the community. The information presented in this report is extracted from the Ottawa Police Records Management System (RMS) and has been categorized using the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Survey for police-reported crime data, version 2.2. The statistics presented in this report also expand upon information presented to the Board in the quarterly performance reports, along with statistics forwarded to the City as part of the Ontario Municipal Benchmarking Initiative (OMBI).

DISCUSSION

The annual release of the Crime, Police, and Traffic Statistics Report citywide and by ward provides residents and visitors with a better understanding of crime in the city. The data in this report, together with community feedback in the public survey on policing, helps the Ottawa Police and the community enhance community problem-solving efforts.

Key Crime Trends:

§ With 36,622 reported Criminal Code of Canada (CCC) offences in the City of Ottawa, the level of crime fell by over two percent in the past year (- 860 incidents).

§ The City’s crime rate was 3,950 criminal offences per 100,000 population, down from 4,085 in 2010.

§ Sixteen of 23 wards experienced a reduction in the number of CCC offences from 2010, with Stittsville-Kanata West having the largest decline (-28% or -204 incidents).

§ Four in ten crimes were solved in 2011, with two-thirds of homicides solved by early 2012. The overall solvency rate for total Criminal Code offences (excluding traffic) remained consistent year-over-year at 39 percent citywide.

Crimes Against the Person:

§ Violent crime dropped by nearly five percent in 2011 (from 5,495 to 5,245), the result of fewer assaults (-4%), threats and intimidation (-20%), and homicides (-14%).

§ In 2011, there were 11 homicides, down from the 14[1] that were reported in 2010. Robberies however, increased by six percent, up 40 incidents to 712.

Crimes Against Property:

§ In the past three years the number of property crimes has fallen by over 3,000 offences, declining marginally (-0.9%) over the last year to 27,151 offences.

§ Numbering 2,703 offences, break and enters decreased by six percent in 2011, resulting from fewer offences in 13 of 23 wards last year. The greatest reduction was in Stittsville-Kanata West (-46%), while River Ward had the largest increase (+26% or +36 incidents). The solvency rate of break and enters returned to 2009 levels as it decreased by six percentage points to 24 percent.

Other Criminal Code Offences:

§ Other Criminal Code of Canada offences (weapons, bail violations, counterfeit currency, breach probation, internet threats, and other) decreased by 8 percent or 377 incidents from 2010. Other than Threats via the Internet which rose 30 percent (+30 incidents), there were few reported offenses in all categories.

Traffic and Road Safety:

§ The Ottawa Police issued over 92,000 traffic violations in 2011, a 15 percent decline over the previous year.

§ Motor vehicle collisions resulted in 17 fewer fatalities in 2011, down nearly half (-47%) from 2010 (36).

§ Last year the Ottawa police conducted 73 Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere (RIDE) programs, stopping 22,384 vehicles, and administering 271 roadside (Alcotest) demands.

Calls for Service:

§ In the past three years the Ottawa Police handled an average of 381,000 calls annually. Last year, the number of calls received by the OPS grew marginally (+1.0%) to over 390,000.

§ Ottawa Police responded to more than 78,000 emergency response calls - characterized as crimes in progress or life threatening situations – a one percent decrease from 2010.

Call Response:

§ Average response times for emergency calls citywide declined slightly last year, with Ottawa Police Officers arriving on scene in 10 minutes – virtually the same as in 2010.

§ Response performance to Priority 1 calls continues to hover below the benchmark of 90 percent, with an on-scene police presence within 15 minutes, 87 percent of the time. This was a negligible difference (-0.3 pct. Pt) from 2010.

Additional information and data are contained in Annex A: Summary Report: 2011 Crime, Police and Traffic Statistics to this report.

EXISTING POLICY

The annual Police, Crime, and Traffic Statistics Report forms part of the Ottawa Police Service’s ongoing performance monitoring to comply with Provincial Adequacy Standards and Ottawa Police Service Board Policies AI-001 and 011, Framework for Business Planning and Framework for Annual Reporting.

CONSULTATION

No consultation was required for this report.

FINANCIAL STATEMENT

There are no immediate financial impacts or implications from the results of this report.

CONCLUSION

Ottawa is one of the safest cities in Canada. The current report focuses exclusively on the City of Ottawa and provides police-reported statistics citywide and for 23 wards. Further data on community safety will be forthcoming from Statistics Canada based on the Crime Severity Index.

In addition to the collision and provincial offences notices information contained in this report, the City releases an annual road safety report. The report typically includes highlights of road safety programs, traffic enforcement initiatives, and top collision locations.

The Ottawa Police will continue to serve on the OMBI Police Expert Panel, the national Police Information and Statistics (POLIS) Committee, and other venues that contribute to the ongoing discussion and improvement in the quality of life for residents and police performance measures.

The Ottawa Police will continue to serve and collaborate with our residents in a proactive manner to ensure the City remains an attractive place to live, work and visit.

(original signed by)

Charles Bordeleau

Chief of Police

Annex A: Summary Report: 2011 Crime, Police and Traffic Statistics

This document contains information that reports on activities related to the Ottawa Police Business Plan.

[1] Included in the total number of homicides in 2010 were two historical incidents from 1990 and 2003 that were otherwise unknown and unreported to the Ottawa Police.