The Ottawa Police Services 2015 public survey suggests people are feeling less safe downtown.
The survey said only 60 percent of people felt safe downtown during the day. A big drop from 2012, when 81 percent of people said they felt safe downtown in daylight hours.
Ottawa police say they are looking into reasons for the drop.
“One of the things we’re looking at is the actual events from October 22nd,” said Chief Charles Bordeleau, referring to the Parliament hill shooting.
Two other areas of concern for those surveyed were bike paths and walking trails. The survey said only 53 percent of people felt safe while using these paths.
“I could understand bike trails because there are not as many people around so I’ll usually keep an eye out a little bit more,” said Emilie Tremblay.
Ottawa police say they have focused more resources on these areas to ease tensions.
“Over the summer we increased the number of officers in the lower town foot patrol to reassure the public that we’re out there and it is a safe community downtown,” said Bordeleau.
Another stat from the survey is that most residents are satisfied with the service offered by police.
“I see police cars around and I think in a way it’s comforting because you know if something does happen, there are police nearby,” said Amanda Odo, who works downtown.
