The Ottawa Police Traffic Enforcement Unit is directing more resources at addressing a rise in stunt driving in the nation’s capital.
According to the Ottawa Police Service (OPS), Ottawa police — and police services across the country — have been facing staffing shortages, related to budgetary constraints and retirement.
This means that police services have not been able to top up the number of officers, as many retire or leave the service for other reasons.
“The traffic unit, unfortunately, has not been spared of that (staffing shortages) and we’re not at the same manpower where we should be at,” said Craig Roberts, Ottawa Police District Traffic Manager.
While Canada’s Capital sees a significant number of protests and special events each year, Ottawa police are required to assign additional resources to these areas, he added.
“That directly impacts our ability to be out mandating traffic safety and enforcement and that’s something we’ve been wrestling with even more so for the last two or three years,” explained Craig.
According to the traffic manager, OPS has ramped up efforts to increase staffing — and is moving in the right direction as more hiring has been a top priority for the Chief of OPS (Eric Stubbs).
“While it’s a lot of investments financially and with training, OPS is on the right track when it comes to making sure we’re properly staffed, not just in traffic but right across the board,” said Roberts.
While this ‘street-racing culture’ is not exclusive to Ottawa, OPS is working to reduce stunt driving in hotspots across the city, including areas in Barrhaven, Kanata, Riverside South and Orléans.
“Stunt driving has consistently been one of our top priorities and it’s something we’ve focused on since the beginning of the pandemic,” explained Roberts.
According to OPS, there were 370 stunt driving occurrences in 2024, compared with 416 in 2023.
Additionally, this compares with 473 charges in 2022, 692 in 2021, 454 in 2020 and 187 in 2019.
Police said the numbers should be interpreted with caution in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to OPS, they are continue to direct more resources towards high-risk types of driving, including stunt, impaired, and distracted driving.
The Ottawa Police Traffic Enforcement Unit said they issued stunt driving charges consistently throughout 2024, with drivers of all ages being stopped – many on their second or third stunt driving charge.
“The number of stunt driving charges are consistent and our officers are doing the best they can when they’re able to get out there and address it, but they certainly haven’t reduced (stunt driving charges),” noted Craig.
OPS launched the Residents Matter Traffic Enforcement Initiative in 2024, composed of frontline and Traffic Unit officers deployed to late-night, high-complaint locations in the Barrhaven area.
The program was designed to address speeding, impaired driving, unnecessary noise, and other dangerous driving in Ottawa.
“We’ve taken a select number of officers that are traffic-oriented and very motivated towards the enforcement component of this — and we send them out to the locations that we’re aware of,” explained Roberts.
According to the traffic manager, there have been hundreds of charges related to modified plate covers, mufflers and exhaust systems.
During Residents Matter’s first night on June 21st, 94 provincial offence notices were issued, including:
- 28 speeding
- 12 no muffler or improper mufflers
- 9 obstructed licence plates
- 10 invalid permits
- 10 failure to display two licence plates
- 2 unlicensed drivers
Additionally, frontline patrol officers were out on August 30th, as part of the Residents Matter late-night traffic enforcement initiative — with officers issuing 76 charges, including 11 Court Summons and the 65 provincial offence notices.
“I really try to make sure that we’re addressing it in every community across the city and unfortunately, it draws our resources to Barrhaven to address it but that’s because it’s the hornet’s nest of what’s going on,” added Roberts.