Ottawa police receive spike in shoplifting calls over the summer

Ottawa Police sign outside headquarters on Elgin St. in Ottawa. (CTV News Ottawa)

Shoplifting and traffic complaints accounted for the majority of online reports to the Ottawa Police Service over the summer.

A report for the Ottawa Police Services Board shows there were approximately 105,000 requests for service in the July to September period, with 96,000 calls through the police computer-aided dispatch system and 8,400 reports submitted online.

Staff say shoplifting accounted for 39 per cent of all online reports during the summer, up 19 per cent from the third quarter of 2024. There were approximately 3,200 online reports for shoplifting in the July-September period.

“The second most frequent online report was Traffic Complaint, accounting for 11 per cent of reports, increasing 28 per cent compared to the third quarter of 2024,” staff said in the report.

“Other high-frequency online reports were theft under $5,000 (5 per cent), theft from vehicles (5 per cent), and mischief to property (5 per cent of total reports).”

Shoplifting accounted for 37 per cent of all online reports during the second quarter of the year (approximately 2,900 shoplifting reports).

$19 million in the red

The Ottawa Police Service is projecting a $19 million budget deficit this year due to overtime, a new collective agreement for senior officers and a number of events.

A new report shows police are facing a $10 million deficit due to officer overtime, an $8.5 million deficit due to policing events and demonstrations and a $7.5 million funding shortfall due to a new contract agreement for senior officers. The $8.5 million shortfall for events and demonstrations includes costs for policing Canada Day, the Royal visit by King Charles and Queen Camilla in May and “ongoing demonstrations related to the Middle East conflict,” according to staff.

The service has found $7.2 million in “solutions” and revenue to offset the deficit, including $5.6 million in federal funding.

“Due to this forecasted deficit, OPS imposed a discretionary spending freeze in June, implemented safeguards to preserve vacancy savings along with other proactive measures to mitigate further financial strain,” police said.

“Due to staffing stabilization efforts, OPS no longer has access to large vacancy savings to leverage in offsetting budget pressures.”

The Ottawa Police Services Board will vote Friday on whether to approve its $484 million 2026 budget, which includes a five per cent increase in funding.

If approved, taxpayers would pay an extra $46 for policing services on their property tax bill next year.