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A car theft reported Monday evening is one example of a situation where having a police helicopter in the air would be useful, Ottawa’s police chief says.
Ottawa police received a call about a vehicle stolen on Somerset Street West around 5:30 p.m. The vehicle was soon located on Albert Street, accelerating through a red light. Police initiated a pursuit, but stopped after officers lost sight of the vehicle.
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The vehicle was soon located again, along with a suspect, a 40-year-old man, on a residential street in Centretown. He faces a number of charges, including possession of property obtained by crime, two counts of failing to comply with a release order, drug possession, possession of a prohibited weapon and carrying a concealed weapon.
Having a helicopter will be a “game-changer” for Ottawa police, Chief Eric Stubbs told reporters Tuesday in announcing details about a “joint air support unit” — a helicopter that Ottawa police can access through a partnership with the Ontario Provincial Police.
Under a plan announced in the 2024 Ontario budget, the OPP will acquire two new H135 helicopters to support the Ottawa and Toronto Police Services. Three other helicopters will be procured, owned and operated by Durham, Halton and Peel Regional Police Services. In total, the province is spending $134 million to purchase the five new helicopters.
In Ottawa, the OPP will provide the pilot and ground crew. Tactical flight officers, whose primary role will be to communicate with the helicopter pilot as well as officers on the ground, will be provided by the Ottawa Police Service, Stubbs said. “That person is there because he or she knows the city inside out.”
Having a police helicopter will be a “game-changer” for Ottawa, Stubbs said. Curtailing increasing numbers of auto thefts is one example. During the first six months of 2024, 858 cars were reported stolen, compared to 504 during the same time period in 2023, according to Ottawa Police Service crime map data.
The recovery rate for stolen vehicles is currently about 55 per cent, Stubbs said.
If police locate a suspect in a car theft, they have to back off if the pursuit poses a danger to the public, he said. “If we had a helicopter in the air, we wouldn’t have to do that.”
There can be other uses for the helicopter, too, including as support for tactical teams and monitoring demonstrations, large events such as Canada Day and visits from heads of state to the national capital.
“It’s very important that we have that viewpoint and that ability to move with that head of state, to move with a protest as it’s marching and to keep everyone safe on the ground,” Stubbs said. “The frequency of these demonstrations are increasing and we need to be properly equipped to manage them.”
The OPP already has an aviation services unit, while the Ottawa Police Service already has a drone program, but it’s not the same as having a helicopter, Stubbs said. A drone is restricted to a certain area because the pilot of the ground must be able to see it at all times.
OPP Deputy Commissioner Kari Dart said the OPP and the OPS would have detailed conversations about how they would work together, including how to prioritize use of the helicopter.
It will take a year or two before the helicopter is in the air. Part of the deployment schedule for the helicopter will be data driven, including the times when there are the highest numbers of vehicle thefts, Stubbs said, and often that’s at night. There will also be “proactive patrols” in which case the helicopter will be able to respond immediately.
Technology on board the helicopter will allow police to see the areas they are searching in detail and to record for the purposes of providing evidence in court, Dart said. “When we have arrested and charged persons, I can tell you that the video footage that these machines capture are incredibly impactful and ensure our success.”
A car is stolen in Ontario every 14 minutes, Solicitor General Michael Kerzner said.
As a result of Project Vector, a joint effort between the OPP and the Canada Border Services Agency, 598 vehicles worth about $34.5 million were recovered from the Port of Montreal between December 2023 and March 2024.
Ontario will be asking the federal government to make changes on the inspections of outbound shipping containers, especially those whose suspected cargo may include stolen cars, Kerzner said Tuesday.
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