While a Capital Current analysis of Ottawa Police Service data shows reported assault cases in the ByWard Market have declined since 2022, residents continue to feel unsafe.
“Why is he threatening three vulnerable girls just trying to have some fun on a Saturday night,” said 20-year old Ayjah Francis, a victim of a recent assault in the ByWard Market, “I was scared and focused on getting everyone home safe.”
Francis, a third-year uOttawa student, said she was assaulted outside The Show, a popular nightclub in the Market in September.
“A homeless man approached me and my friend and started hurling insults at us,” said Francis, “He was pushing in closer, like menacingly.”
Francis says she did not report the assault.
“I didn’t think much would be done about it,” she said, “I don’t know much, but I know [the police] deal with a lot of surveillance in the clubbing area. I didn’t want to report one minor incident.”
Francis said that in the end, “you could have the most enforcement in the world [but] people are still going to do what they’re going to do.”
The Ottawa police say they have seen a decrease in citizen-initiated calls. As a result, they aim to increase the Community Outreach Response and Engagement (CORE) presence in the market as officers become available.
CORE combines strategies with focused enforcement in crime “hot-spots”, areas where crimes are more concentrated, to enhance community safety. CORE teams work in the Market to protect communities, minimize crime, assist vulnerable populations and carry-out community based solutions, police say.
As a part of this initiative, officers are available two days a week with plans to increase their presence, said the Ottawa police.
“Seeing the increased police presence definitely makes a huge difference,” said Nicolas Groulx, host and DJ at The Show, “I’ve seen what it was like before and I find a lot of the homeless people were kind of, you know, committing threatening acts.”
“I remember in the last few years, a lot of people were saying, ‘Oh, I don’t want to go to the ByWard Market. It’s too violent’,” he said.
Still, Groulx says, there is room for improvement. “It would be nice to see [an increased police presence] in the afternoon.”
He said police may assume the day is safer since more people are out, “but at the end of the day, foot traffic doesn’t really do much to stop crime,” said Groulx.
While many residents say they feel less safe at night, a Capital Current analysis shows a large number of assaults actually happen in the afternoon.
To combat daytime crime in the Market the Ottawa police have opened a Neighbourhood Operations Centre (NOC) at 50 Rideau St. The centre is part of the CORE program.
The NOC claims repeat offenders and people with complex needs are responsible for a significant amount of crime, such as violent assaults, in the Market.
The centre marks an effort to improve downtown safety and support services located within the Ottawa-Vanier riding, represented by Liberal MPP Lucille Collard.
Collard said, “Typically it’s vulnerable populations who commit crime,” and calls attention to preventative measures, like mental health services and other support for these individuals.
“I think that we need to look at the success that we’ve known and the solutions that are working and making sure we replicate that,” said Collard.
She cited the Shepherds of Good Hope as an example of that kind of success. The Shepherds is a non-profit organization that provides shelter and support to the unhoused.
“There also has been a lot of focus and interest from the community and organizations who help vulnerable people,” said Collard.
The Night Ambassadors is an another pilot program which the Byword Market District Authority started in June. The ambassadors aren’t a replacement for first-responders.
Their stated role is to aid intoxicated or vulnerable people, hand-out essential items, promote compassion and de-escalate violent situations.
The program will end in November.
