Ottawa Police see rise in family disputes, landlord-tenant issues during pandemic

OTTAWA -- The Ottawa Police Service has seen a spike in calls for family and partner disputes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Statistics show between March 16 and April 30, Ottawa Police received 245 calls for family disputes, up 24 per cent from the previous year.

There was 505 calls for partner disputes that didn’t result in charges during the first six weeks of the pandemic, up 25 per cent from last year.

During a City of Ottawa Town Hall on Thursday, Police Chief Peter Sloly said “calls for service are down 22 per cent and reported crime has also fallen 23 per cent during this period.”

“But we've seen a steep increase in the complexity and the risk in all calls for service and all cases of crime because of the impacts of COVID-19.”

There has also been a spike in neighbour and landlord-tenant disputes across the City of Ottawa.

In the first six weeks of the pandemic, Ottawa Police received 111 calls for a dispute with a neighbour, up 29 per cent from the same period in 2019.

There was also 80 calls for landlord-tenant disputes between March 16 and April 30, up 34 per cent from the same period last year.