Though Ottawa police data shows reported thefts in the ByWard Market have been declining, local business owners are not feeling the improvement.
Thefts under $5,000, such as shoplifting and bike thefts, are the most commonly reported crimes in ByWard, a Capital Current analysis of Ottawa police data has found.
These incidents are 17 per cent lower this year than around the same time in 2018.
Despite that decline, some business owners say that theft remains a problem in ByWard.
Walid Toucan, the owner of Maple Leaf Souvenirs and Cigars, says he is frustrated with the frequent thefts at his store.
“We’re losing money, our windows are being broken and our stores are being broken into,” he said.
Toucan said his frustrations aren’t just about the break-ins; it’s about what happens after.
“The insurance won’t cover you if the damages are less than $10,000 and the Ottawa police will not even come if the damages are less than $5,000,” he said.
Ottawa police did not directly respond to questions about whether they attend theft calls for under $5,000.
In an email statement, police said that people can report not-in-progress thefts through the website or by telephone. Police also noted that between Sept. 22 and Oct. 7, 279 reports of thefts under $5,000 were “processed.”
In the rest of Rideau-Vanier Ward, thefts under $5,000 have increased. From Jan. 1 to Sept. 22, there have been 2,543 reported thefts under $5,000 in the ward — the highest of any Ottawa ward — the Capital Current analysis of Ottawa police crime data found.
While this figure more or less matches that of the same time last year, it’s more than a 50 per cent jump from 2018.
Toucan said that he believes drug usage among unhoused people in Rideau-Vanier is to blame for thefts in the area.
“They are hungry, they are on the streets and they do their drugs, they lose their minds and they come here,” said Toucan. “I had my three bikes and my electrical scooter stolen. This is a problem.”
Jeffrey Bradley, a criminology professor at u Ottawa, said an increase in homelessness may be one of the factors leading to an increase in thefts under $5,000.
“I think it’s contributing, but it’s probably not the only thing. We have other human trafficking, violence and gender-based violence that is really high right now,” he said.
Ottawa police said in an email that they’ve introduced several initiatives to reduce thefts and other crimes in the Rideau-Vanier ward, including their Community Outreach Response Engagement Strategy and the launch of the Neighbourhood Operations Centre. The force did not respond to questions about thefts by the unhoused in Rideau-Vanier.
Police say their new operations have improved police visibility in the ward and reduced the number of citizen-initiated calls for help.
I actually just think people aren’t calling anymore. I think people are kind of done and they’re just not really seeing the response they want to see. They’re not seeing a timely response.
Rideau-Vanier Coun. Stéphanie Plante
Rideau-Vanier Coun. Stéphanie Plante says, however, that she doesn’t think a decrease in calls to the police or fewer reported thefts means fewer actual thefts are happening in the Market.
“I actually just think people aren’t calling anymore,” Plante told Capital Current. “I think people are kind of done and they’re just not really seeing the response they want to see. They’re not seeing a timely response.”
Bradley said he believes there is a growing divide in how communities are protected, especially in the Market.
“A lot of businesses in the Market now actually use private security,” he said. “So you kind of have this two-tiered system being created where there’s public police and then there’s private police. To me, it shows that we’re not addressing people’s basic needs and that economic inequality is getting worse.”
Plante said there has been a “very large expansion of private security” in the Market.
“There is an equity issue there,” she said. “People who can afford [private security], they protect themselves and they put their walls up.”
Jamie Johnston, owner of Mushroom Land on Rideau Street, has recently had to hire private security and he is feeling the financial pressure.
“We have had to get security overnight, which is making us not profitable now. We are thinking of closing down shop,” said Johnston.
He said he has felt largely abandoned by Ottawa police.
“The Ottawa police have been very unhelpful. I know many people who own businesses on this street, and they are all thinking of closing. Where are the cops? Where is my tax money going?” he said.
“Are you working against us, cops, or with us?” Johnston added.
