OTTAWA -- Ottawa’s new police chief says an “enhanced overall strategy” will be announced in the next week to better address street violence.
Chief Peter Sloly made the comment after a shooting at an Airbnb on Gilmour Street left an 18-year-old Ottawa man dead and three others with serious injuries. Police identified the victim as Manyok Akol of Ottawa.
In a series of messages on Twitter, Sloly said six people have been shot in the first eight days of 2020.
“I am grateful for the efforts of @OttawaPolice members, all emergency services providers and our community partners to prevent and respond to these crimes,” Sloly said. The chief added “street violence and firearms crimes in this and all cities are complex issues that will not be addressed by quick fix reactionary activities.”
Sloly says the new strategy to address street violence will include longer term elements to "better address related crime, social disorder, community safety and well-being issues."
Speaking with CTV News Wednesday afternoon, Deputy Chief Uday Jaswal said the Ottawa Police Service is looking to expand its street violence and gang strategy across the city.
“When we have applied our street violence and gang strategy in a very targeted way, specifically in certain neighbourhoods, we’re seeing some excellent results.”
Jaswal added under Chief Sloly’s leadership, the service is evolving the plan to see how it can be spread out across the city to get back to a neighbourhood policing model.