Police to patrol ByWard Market on horseback

Ottawa police plan to introduce horse-mounted patrols to the ByWard Market, in response to concerns over crime and public safety in the historic neighbourhood, Chief Eric Stubbs told a public meeting Friday. 

Business owners, retailers and residents gathered at Gordon Harrison Canadian Landscape Gallery on Sussex Drive on Friday morning to hear how Ottawa police are responding to their concerns over worsening conditions in the ByWard Market.

For a year, local business owners have been pleading for more help from authorities, said Phil Emond, the owner of the gallery. In July they wrote an open letter to city officials outlining their concerns, he said. 

"We've gone through a lot," said Emond.

In response, Stubbs acknowledged the Ottawa Police Service (OPS) is struggling to meet demands with its limited resources, but said he had a plan to improve the situation. 

A three-year staff stabilization program aims to boost the size of the force, he said. 

"We have hired more members this year than we ever have in the OPS so far," he said. "It's not about getting to a Cadillac version, it's about stabilizing the service so we can react and better serve the community."

The OPS is waiting for expected funding from federal and provincial governments that will allow the force to dedicate more resources to the ByWard Market, he said. 

"We asked for funding directly to help this area," from the provincial government, Stubbs said. "So that's coming."

The OPS was also "very close" to securing federal funding for policing near Parliament Hill that would free local police resources for other assignments, he said.

Stubbs also announced that horse-mounted police would start patrolling the ByWard Market next year.

"Our goal is to have a mounted unit launched by next April 1," he said. 

Initially, the unit will consist of four horses with plans to expand it to eight, he said. 

"You're not going to miss a mounted unit going down the street," he said of the anticipated impact of mounted police conducting "proactive patrols."

'Becoming a ghetto'

These initiatives follow previous efforts by OPS to address crime and safety in ByWard Market. This summer police increased patrols in eight areas they identified as "hot spots" for crime and social disorder.

Annual visits to the ByWard Market are slowly increasing but remain short of pre-pandemic levels, data published in July suggests.

Some business owners say they've noticed some improvement, but add the issues are deeper than what can be addressed by increased policing.

"I think many of us sense that there's been improvement happening," said Emond.

"But ... it's more than the police that we need here because one of the big, big problems we have is that we have an over-concentration of social services. We're becoming a ghetto."