Ottawa Police start new district model to benefit suburban neighbourhoods

A new approach: The Ottawa Police Services is expanding its force and pivoting to a new district model, but it will come with a steep price tag.  

For the past six years, OPS has operated under what they called a centralized structure, which maximized resources, strengthened core service delivery, streamlined operations, and brought consistency. But that also came with limitations as the city grew and brought unique challenges to different neighbourhoods. 

The new structure will create four geographical areas: Central, South, East and West. The force expects it will especially help growing suburban areas like Kanata, Stittsville, Barrhaven and Riverside South, which have many different challenges than, say, the ByWard Market or Vanier. 

• “We have distinct and unique needs in the 24 wards that make up the city of Ottawa. It was obvious we were not serving some areas of the city in the way that we should, that we were letting certain areas of the city down,” Ottawa Police Chief Eric Stubbs told CTV. 

By the numbers: To support the new policing model, 92 existing positions have been repurposed, and 63 new officers will be hired. The district approach is expected to cost $11.4 million over three years. 

Because of budget constraints, the rollout will begin in 2026 and be fully phased in by 2028. That gives three years to split up the hiring process and spending because of limited resources. 

How it will work: Police said the “decentralized leadership structure is designed to foster geographic ownership, support localized decision-making, enhance responsiveness, and strengthen community relationships.” 

All four districts will be led by a superintendent responsible for operations and will also include Community Intake Relationship Specialists, Crime and Research Analysts, Neighbourhood Resource Teams, Community Police Officers, Youth Officers, and Traffic Officers.

It could come at a cost: Investing in staffing for the new district model will pressure other OPS areas. According to a report, the force's specialized units face increasing complexity and rising caseloads. Prioritizing district model implementation may limit the OPS’s ability to respond to these needs in the short term, reported the Ottawa Citizen.

Car thefts in Ottawa are going down 

Promising signs: Over the last few years, Ottawa has had never-ending headlines about car thefts. But some good news is that statistics for the first seven months of this year show they are trending down. 

Data from the Ottawa Police Service’s crime map shows 831 vehicle thefts have been reported across Ottawa since January. For comparison, there were 929 vehicle thefts between Jan. 1 and July 22, 2024.

At least one vehicle theft has been reported in each of Ottawa's 24 municipal wards. 

By neighbourhood: Rideau-Vanier reported the most vehicle thefts this year, with 67 reported — including 18 in the ByWard Market and nine in Sandy Hill. That was followed by Gloucester-Southgate at 66; Alta Vista at 58; College Ward at 50; Bay Ward at 44; Orléans South-Navan at 42; Riverside South-Findlay Creek at 39; Knoxdale-Merivale and River Wards both at 38; Somerset at 37; Beacon Hill-Cyrville and Kanata North at 35; Rideau-Rockcliffe at 34; Osgoode at 31, and Rideau-Jock at 29

None of the top 15 list this year was Barrhaven, which came in first place for most car thefts in 2023, reported the Ottawa Citizen.