By Eilish Mcnamara and Samantha Cima
This past summer, the Lowertown Community Association commissioned a research project on crime and public disorder. Research for the study was conducted by two University of Ottawa Master of Criminology students. The researchers collected and analyzed six years’ worth of data from the Ottawa Police Service, the Ottawa Neighbourhood Study, Bylaw Services, the Business Improvement Area, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, and the Lowertown Community Association (LCA) Crime Survey. The results from the study are detailed below.
Between 2011 and 2016, crime in all of Lowertown (comprised of the ByWard Market and Lowertown East) has consistently remained high compared to the neighbouring Downtown centres of Centretown and Sandy Hill. Calculated per 10,000 population, all of Lowertown has three times more crimes against the person (e.g., assaults) and two times more crimes against property (e.g., theft) than Centretown and Sandy Hill. Crimes against the person have remained stable, while crimes against property have been on a downward trend since 2011, with slight peaks upwards.
The ByWard Market area has a higher level of crime than Lowertown East, specifically two-and-a half times more crimes against property and the person. Analysis of the Crime Mapping Tool from the Ottawa Police Service demonstrated a clear clustering of crime within the ByWard Market. Interestingly, however, the LCA Crime Survey conducted in June 2018 found that residents of the ByWard Market reported feeling very safe from crime significantly more than residents of Lowertown East..
While the scope of this research project did not allow for a concrete investigation into the causes of crime and disorder within Lowertown, it is hypothesized that the concentration of bars and alcohol and the vulnerability of the neighbourhood are likely contributors to the higher rates of crime found the ByWard Market (as compared to other Downtown neighbourhoods and Lowertown East). Data collected from the Alcohol Gaming Commission of Ontario indicated that there are at least 124 established vendors within the Lowertown area, most of which fall within the boundaries of the ByWard Market. Historically, crimes associated with alcohol vendors and entertainment districts include property damage, vandalism, assault, street offences, drinking and driving, and other related activities.
Vulnerable neighbourhoods refer to those with higher rates of poverty, drug use, and social services, where these neighbourhoods have more “targets” for victimization (all of Lowertown has six social services within its boundaries (Shepherds of Good Hope, the Salvation Army, Centre 454, Capital City Mission, Ottawa Inner City Health, and the John Howard Society) and while data were lacking on drug use, respondents on the LCA survey indicated drug abuse to be a large issue within Lowertown. Although these connections cannot be made with certainty, they warrant further inquiry.
While a common response to the problems cited above is an increased budget dedicated to policing, this response has proven to be ineffective in preventing crime and is solely a reactive approach to the problem. Instead, primary and upstream prevention is necessary, focusing on preventing crime before it occurs and investing in proven and evidence-based techniques. Moreover, a commitment to better measuring and accessing of crime and disorder statistics is required, specifically stronger and more accurate measures of disorder and more fluid reporting of statistics to the general population from all stakeholders involved.
The full report is located at http://www.lowertown-basseville.ca/
Eilish Mcnamara and Samantha Cima are MA students in Criminology at the University of Ottawa