By Laragh Dooley
Somerset Ward has the second highest crime rate in Ottawa, according to a police report released late last month.
The report says that Somerset Ward’s crime rate is more than double that of the city’s.
In 2005, the ward had a crime rate of 13,430 per 100,000 people while the city’s crime rate was only 5,379 per 100,000.
Somerset Coun. Diane Holmes says the higher crime rate is due to the high number of people who pass through the area as visitors.
“We have a bit of a bar strip and that increases the number of offences,” she says.
“When people have spent the evening drinking and are leaving the bar at 2 a.m., this can lead to some occurrences.”
The lowest crime rate was in Gloucester-South Nepean.
Somerset had more than 10 times this ward’s crime rate.
The Ottawa police publish a report each year detailing crime statistics at the city level.
This is the first time the information has been available at the ward level.
“When we work with community groups or citizens, they tend to look at the safety level for their specific neighbourhood,” says Randy Mar, director of corporate planning for the Ottawa Police.
However, Mar says it isn’t fair to compare wards because each one is so distinct. He says that each ward has unique traits.
“Simply comparing Somerset with, say, Barrhaven would not beaccurate because each ward has unique residents, employment levels, and demographics.”
Holmes says people are being actively encouraged to report crime in Somerset Ward and this has also increased the statistics.
“We have citizens going door-to-door asking people to report their crimes. This is a very good thing but has added to the increased numbers. We want people to report crime to the police, and not just to their insurance company,” she says.
Only Rideau-Vanier had more overall crime than Somerset.
While the total number of criminal offences in Somerset Ward increased between 2004 and 2005, the report shows violent crimes have decreased by 12 per cent. During the same time, violent crime at the city level was down six per cent.
Somerset Ward is consistent with what is happening across the city, and overall Ottawa is one of the safest cities in Canada, says Allain Bernard, the police inspector for central west Ottawa, the area that includes Somerset.
He says he cannot pinpoint the exact reason for the decrease in violent crimes in Somerset but believes strong relations between the police and the residents have helped.
“We have a very, very strong relationship with this community and we have come together to address specific community problems. We target our plan around the concerns they voice.”
Allain says the overall increase in crime is due to property crime and other offences such as bail violations, counterfeit money and mischief.
There is often a direct correlation between theft and other crimes, particularly those involving drugs, says Allain.
Later this month, residents of Somerset Ward will have an opportunity to voice their concerns about crime and safety in the area.
Taking it to the Streets, a project intended to address safety concerns among residents, will ask some Centretown residents to complete a survey about neighbourhood safety.
Susan Love, the project co-ordinator, says the questions have been formulated but must be revised by the ethics board at the University of Ottawa before being administered.
Love says the survey will add another layer of understanding to neighbourhood crime in the Somerset Ward.