OTTAWA -- There has been a 20 per cent drop in reported crimes across Ottawa during the COVID-19 pandemic.
But the Ottawa Police Service is seeing a spike in calls for break and enters and fraud.
Deputy Chief Steve Bell provided an update on reported crimes across Ottawa during the Ottawa Police Services Board meeting Monday evening.
Since the start of pandemic the weekend of March 15-16, the Ottawa Police Service has reported a 30 per cent drop in dispatched calls.
Bell told the board that Ottawa has seen an overall 20 per cent drop in reported crimes during the state of emergency. Bell says theft charges are down 50 per cent, which could be due to the closure of businesses during the pandemic.
According to the report, there has been a 60 per cent increase in break and enters and a four per cent increase in fraud calls.
Bell says there has also been an increase in calls requesting assistance for disputes involving a partner or neighbour and domestic complaints.
There has been a decrease in reported assaults, sexual violations, robberies and thefts since the pandemic began. Police Chief Peter Sloly has previously said the service is concerned about the drop in calls for assaults and sexual assaults.
Ottawa roads
Deputy Chief Bell told the board that while the service is seeing a decrease in reported collisions, there has been an increase of “problematic driving behaviour" on the roads.
On average, the Ottawa Police Service would see 50 to 70 collisions a day. Now, Bell says police see less than 15 collisions a day.
But there are still problems on the roads.
“From a traffic issue situation, no we haven’t seen a decrease in that,” said Bell.
“I think we’ve seen a decrease in the volume of traffic on the roads, but what we’ve seen is an increase in some ways of really problematic driving behaviour.”
Bell said police have stepped up enforcement to crack down on speeding across Ottawa.
