Photo: Jeangagnon · CC BY-SA 4.0Lowertown West sees more crime per resident than almost any other Canadian town
The rate of property crime is 353.7 per 1,000 residents a year, against 20.6 in the typical Ottawa neighbourhood. Counting crime the police covering Lowertown West reported from 2023 to 2025, it grades D− for safety: #2,561 of 2,572 Canadian towns. Even so, its Crime Severity Index averaged 54.7 over 2023–2025, against 60.3 for the typical Canadian town of 50,000+. In 2023 the index stood at 55.8; it fell to 52.2 in 2025.
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. Area behind the crime severity and crime rate figures: the Ottawa service area.
The grade: D− for Lowertown West
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: #2,561 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.
How Lowertown West compares across Ottawa
Violent crime per 1,000 a year
Property crime per 1,000 a year
Of 103 Ottawa neighbourhoods, Lowertown West comes 103rd counting from the lowest rate: above the typical one.
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.
What Ottawa’s police record, 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 West, year by year
Crime Severity Index
2024 was the peak (56) and 2025 the trough (52.2). In the same years the typical Canadian town of 50,000+ read 64.3 (2023), then 59.2 (2025).
Every year as a table
| Year | Lowertown West | 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 West, each year, against the typical Canadian town of 50,000+.
Crime in the places around Lowertown West
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lowertown West | 5,947 | 54.7 | 66 | D− |
| Lowertown East | 6,996 | 54.7 | 66 | D |
| Sandy Hill | 13,830 | 54.7 | 66 | D |
| New Edinburgh | 5,728 | 54.7 | 66 | C+ |
| Centretown | 32,035 | 54.7 | 66 | D |
| Centre-Ville | 12,981 | 67.5 | 100.1 | B− |
| Old Ottawa East | 8,308 | 54.7 | 66 | A |
5 neighbours report through the same police, so their figure is this one and they aren’t compared.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- An index, not a verdict. The index weighs crimes rather than counting them: a serious offence moves it far more than a minor one. Statistics Canada is plain about its limits: “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.”
- The index’s scale. Statistics Canada set the national index at 100 for 2006; every figure here is read against that.
- What clearance means. A crime is cleared when police lay or recommend a charge, or solve it another way; the weighted rate counts serious crimes for more.
Questions about safety in Lowertown West
Is Lowertown West safe?
Against a typical 60.3 for Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more, Lowertown West’s Crime Severity Index stands at 54.7 for 2023–2025. Its police record 8 violent incidents and 30.5 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year.
What is the most common crime in Lowertown West?
Top of the list is theft under $5,000 (16.9 per 1,000 residents a year); fraud, at 6, and other Criminal Code offences, at 5.9, follow.
Is crime going up in Lowertown West?
Down 6%: 55.8 in 2023, 52.2 in 2025.
How much of Lowertown West’s crime do police solve?
Weighted by seriousness, police cleared 32% of crime (49% of violent crime, 23% of the rest). The typical Canadian town of 50,000+ clears 38%.
Whose figures are these?
The city force’s, one set of figures for the 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).