So far this year, car thefts in Ottawa are up by more than 70% with one south Ottawa suburb sticking out as a hot spot
So far this year, car thefts in Ottawa are up by more than 70 per cent, with one south Ottawa suburb sticking out as a hot spot.
Statistics also show 929 vehicles have been reported stolen so far in Ottawa in 2024.
That breaks down to 71 car thefts in July, including 25 in the past 7 days.
Gloucester-Southgate has been the hardest hit by vehicle thefts in 2024, with 95 thefts reported, or nearly 10 per cent of all of the city’s vehicle thefts.
These are the top 10 car theft hot spots so far this year:
Bay ward on the city’s west side comes in a distant second with 68 vehicle thefts, followed by 59 vehicles stolen in Rideau-Vanier, 53 in Orléans East-Cumberland and 52 in River ward.
Rounding out the top 10 are Barrhaven West with 50 thefts; Rideau-Rockcliffe with 48; Beacon Hill-Cyrville with 47; and Alta Vista and Somerset, both where 44 vehicles have been stolen.
Ottawa police launched its open-source crime map last year, detailing where various crimes occurred across the city, including car theft, assault, gun crimes and more. The locations of crime are pinpointed to the nearest road intersections in order to further protect privacy, and all location data is considered an approximate location of the occurrence.
Speaking to reporters Monday, Ottawa Police Chief Eric Stubbs said the police force participated in a joint task force with other agencies in Ontario to stem the flow of stolen vehicles to ports in Montreal and Hamilton.
“We have been part of not only provincial, but national effort to get a hold of this problem,” he said.
“Locally here, we’ve had a number of operations to locate stolen vehicles, stopped them and arrested them. Some gains are being made, for sure,” Stubbs said, “but we’re nowhere near where we need to be. It’s still a significant issue.”
Last year, police said luxury SUVs and trucks were commonly stolen, but thefts aren’t limited to Lexuses and Toyotas. Cars with push-start buttons, including the Toyota Rav4, Honda CRV, Jeep Grand Cherokee and Ford F-series trucks have also been targeted.
Police say thieves have been arrested with weapons such as stun guns, pepper spray or crow bars.
A news release from the Ottawa Police Service says that, in most vehicle thefts, the driver-side door is opened mechanically before thieves access the vehicle’s Engine Control Module (ECM) port to program a new key.
Police say theft prevention measures include parking inside a garage if possible or blocking a vehicle in with a second, less sought-after vehicle.
Anti-theft devices like clubs can be defeated by a determined thief, but it can still act as a deterrent, Stubbs said.
“Any time they have to work harder, that can deter,” he said. “Doing something is better than doing nothing.”