Photo: Tim & Selena Middleton from Toronto, Canada · CC BY 2.0Crime per resident in Lowertown East runs higher than in 95% of Canadian towns
In 2023 the index stood at 55.8; it fell to 52.2 in 2025. Still, on crime the police covering Lowertown East reported from 2023 to 2025, it grades D for safety: #854 of 862 in Ontario. Each year brought 189.6 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents, compared with 20.6 in the typical Ottawa neighbourhood. A Crime Severity Index of 54.7, the 2023–2025 mean, compares with 60.3 for the typical Canadian town of 50,000+.
Statistics Canada, police-reported crime, 2023–2025 means. The index weighs each crime by its seriousness; rates are incidents per 1,000 residents a year. Crime severity and crime rate for the Ottawa service area.
Lowertown East: D for safety, and why
The grade weighs the Crime Severity Index and its violent half, averaged over 2023–2025, against every Canadian town and city neighbourhood of 1,000 people or more.
Its place: #854 of 862 in Ontario and #2,522 of 2,572 Canadian towns.
The Crime Severity Index and its two halves, beside the typical figure for Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more.
Lowertown East among Ottawa’s neighbourhoods
Violent crime per 1,000 a year
Property crime per 1,000 a year
Counting up from the quietest, Lowertown East stands 101st of 103 in Ottawa, on the higher side.
Ottawa’s neighbourhoods, lowest rate first
| # | Neighbourhood | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bridlewood - Emerald Meadows | 2 | 8.1 |
| 2 | Kinburn | 2.1 | 7.3 |
| 3 | Rideaucrest - Davidson Heights | 2.2 | 10 |
| 4 | Munster - Ashton | 2.2 | 9.4 |
| 5 | Brookside - Briarbrook - Morgans Grant | 2.3 | 12.9 |
| … | |||
| 99 | Sandy Hill | 21.1 | 77.5 |
| 100 | Waterridge Village | 22.7 | 34.6 |
| 101 | Lowertown East | 24.3 | 189.6 |
| 102 | Greenbelt (east) | 24.5 | 47.5 |
| 103 | Lowertown West | 90.7 | 353.7 |
Ottawa Police Service, Criminal Offences Open Data (Open Data Licence – Ottawa Police Service), 2023–2025, placed in the neighbourhoods and divided by their 2021 census residents. Violent: offences against the person.
Ottawa’s own neighbourhood figures, per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Ottawa’s crime, type by type
These are Ottawa’s figures, for its police’s whole area: they aren’t published by neighbourhood.
Against the typical town its size, Ottawa runs highest on theft under $5,000 (16.9 per 1,000 against 11.5) and fraud (6 per 1,000 against 5). Assault and mischief sit below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 20.3 | 0.02 | 77% |
| Sexual violations against children | 112.3 | 0.10 | 54% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 182.7 | 0.2 | 97% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 98.3 | 0.09 | 33% |
| Robbery | 576 | 0.5 | 45% |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 72 | 0.06 | 72% |
| Other violent violations | 231.7 | 0.2 | 45% |
| Breaking and entering | 2,537 | 2.2 | 23% |
| Possession of stolen property | 149.7 | 0.1 | 76% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 1,875.7 | 1.6 | 9% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 421.7 | 0.4 | 10% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 19,538.7 | 16.9 | 14% |
| Mischief | 3,556.7 | 3.1 | 14% |
| Weapons violations | 238 | 0.2 | 82% |
| Administration of justice violations | 5,803 | 5 | 93% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 542.3 | 0.5 | 52% |
| Drug violations | 457 | 0.4 | 90% |
| Impaired driving | 673 | 0.6 | 98% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 31 | 0.03 | 38% |
Statistics Canada’s violation groups for the whole police service or detachment: incidents a year are its own, the town’s share is only estimated in the tiles. Cleared: incidents solved by a charge or otherwise, as a share of those reported.
Incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 means, against the typical figure for Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more.
Lowertown East, year by year
Crime Severity Index
2024 stands out as the heaviest year at 56, with 2025 the lightest at 52.2. The typical Canadian town of 50,000+ went from 64.3 in 2023 to 59.2 in 2025.
Every year as a table
| Year | Lowertown East | Typical town of 50,000+ |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 52.2 | 59.2 |
| 2024 | 56 | 59.9 |
| 2023 | 55.8 | 64.3 |
Statistics Canada, Crime Severity Index by police service, each year as published. Typical: the median of Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more.
The Crime Severity Index of the police covering Lowertown East, each year, against the typical Canadian town of 50,000+.
Crime in the places around Lowertown East
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lowertown East | 6,996 | 54.7 | 66 | D |
| Lowertown West | 5,947 | 54.7 | 66 | D− |
| Sandy Hill | 13,830 | 54.7 | 66 | D |
| New Edinburgh | 5,728 | 54.7 | 66 | C+ |
| Vanier North | 10,498 | 54.7 | 66 | C− |
| Vanier South | 7,259 | 54.7 | 66 | D |
| Centretown | 32,035 | 54.7 | 66 | D |
Neighbours policed by the same service carry the same figure, so the 6 of them aren’t set against it.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The index’s scale. The index is scaled so that Canada as a whole scored 100 in its base year, 2006: a town at 50 has half that severity per resident.
- What clearance means. Cleared means solved by police, charged or not; it says nothing about what courts decide.
- An index, not a verdict. Statistics Canada builds the index from every crime police record, weighted by how seriously the courts treat it, and divides by the population. It adds a warning of its own: “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.”
Questions about safety in Lowertown East
Is Lowertown East safe?
Its police recorded 8 violent incidents and 30.5 property crimes a year per 1,000 residents over 2023–2025, which gives Lowertown East a Crime Severity Index of 54.7. The middle of Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more is 60.3.
What is the most common crime in Lowertown East?
The three biggest groups are theft under $5,000 at 16.9, fraud at 6 and other Criminal Code offences at 5.9, each per 1,000 residents a year.
Is crime going up in Lowertown East?
It went down 6% between 2023 and 2025, from 55.8 to 52.2.
How much of Lowertown East’s crime do police solve?
The weighted clearance rate is 32%: 49% for violent crime and 23% for non-violent. For the typical Canadian town of 50,000+ it is 38%.
Whose figures are these?
Those of the police service that covers the whole city.
Source: Statistics Canada, police-reported crime by police service and detachment, 2023–2025 (Statistics Canada Open Licence); TownRatings calculation.
Sources: Statistics Canada, Crime severity index and weighted clearance rates, police services (tables 35-10-0186 to 0190, 0061, 0063, 0064), 2023–2025 · Statistics Canada, Incident-based crime statistics by detailed violations, police services (35-10-0178 to 0185) · Ottawa Police Service, Criminal Offences Open Data · Safety Grade: TownRatings calculation. Under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).