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Ottawa crime in 2023

Ottawa recorded 38,581 reported incidents in 2023, an 8.1% increase from 35,695 in 2022. The 2023 total ranked third among the nine years in the city archive. Theft led with 13,546 reports, followed by assault (7,008), fraud (6,111), other crime (3,918), and mischief (3,366). Break and enter added 2,526, completing the six largest categories. These are reported-incident totals, not per-capita rates.

38,581
Incidents in 2023
12.6%
Share of selected city data
3 of 9
Rank among years
Theft
Top category
13,546 incidents
+8.1%
Year-over-year
vs 2022

Category mix in 2023

Theft 13,546
35.1% of 2023 incidents
Assault 7,008
18.2% of 2023 incidents
Fraud 6,111
15.8% of 2023 incidents
Other 3,918
10.2% of 2023 incidents
Mischief 3,366
8.7% of 2023 incidents
6.5% of 2023 incidents

Ottawa crime 2023

In 2023, Ottawa recorded a total of 38,581 open-data incidents, representing an 8.1% year-over-year increase compared to the 35,695 incidents documented in 2022. This single-year total accounts for 12.6% of the city's 306,413 total catalogued incidents across all available years in the dataset, ranking 2023 third overall among the 9 recorded years.

This report breaks down the 2023 incident records for Ottawa, Ontario, highlighting top categories including Theft at 13,546 incidents, Assault at 7,008 incidents, and Fraud at 6,111 incidents. Additional categories like Other at 3,918, Mischief at 3,366, and Break and enter at 2,526 complete the leading profile. The page offers structured open-data benchmarks to evaluate Ottawa's reporting environment against earlier and subsequent calendar years.

Year-over-year

Comparing 2023 to 2022 shows an increase of 8.1% in Ottawa's reported open-data incidents, moving from 35,695 incidents in 2022 up to 38,581 incidents in 2023. This change reflects documented police reporting activity rather than per-capita risk or true crime rates. The 2023 count continues an upward sequence following 2021's 30,736 incidents and 2020's 29,393 incidents. While 2023 ranks third highest in the 9-year dataset, subsequent figures reached 41,490 in 2024 and 40,121 in 2025. These year-to-year annual variations illustrate shift patterns in municipal open-data reporting across Ottawa, ON.

Key stats

What these numbers mean

Ottawa's 2023 dataset shows property and financial offences comprising a major share of reported activity, led by Theft at 13,546 incidents and Fraud at 6,111 incidents. Personal safety categories were led by Assault with 7,008 incidents. With 38,581 incidents, 2023 stands as the third-highest reporting year in the city's 9-year series, positioned above 2022's 35,695 incidents but below the peak recorded in 2024 with 41,490 incidents. Notably, the Other category was composed entirely of Other crime at 3,918 incidents, making up 10.2% of Ottawa's total 2023 open-data volume.

About this dataset

Frequently asked questions about Ottawa crime in 2023

How many total incidents were reported in Ottawa in 2023?

Ottawa documented 38,581 open-data incidents in 2023. This single-year figure represents 12.6% of the 306,413 total incidents recorded in the city's full open-data archive across all available years. It ranks 2023 as the third-highest reporting year in the city's 9-year dataset.

Did Ottawa's incident counts increase or decrease in 2023 compared to 2022?

Reported incidents in Ottawa increased by 8.1% in 2023 compared to 2022. The yearly total rose from 35,695 incidents in 2022 to 38,581 incidents in 2023. This increase reflects documented police reporting totals rather than per-capita risk or population-adjusted crime rates.

What were the most common offence categories in Ottawa during 2023?

Theft was the leading category in Ottawa during 2023 with 13,546 reported incidents. Assault was the second most common category with 7,008 incidents, followed by Fraud with 6,111 incidents, Other with 3,918 incidents, Mischief with 3,366 incidents, and Break and enter with 2,526 incidents.

Where do Ottawa's 2023 incident numbers originate?

The figures are compiled from municipal open-data releases for Ottawa, ON. The 2023 total of 38,581 incidents is part of a broader archive of 306,413 incidents spanning from 2018 through 2026, capturing official police incident logs published for public analysis and tracking.

Sources

Data is sourced from municipal open-data portal releases for Ottawa, ON.

CrimeMaps.ca is an interactive crime map of Canada, aggregating open crime incidents from Canadian cities, regions, and census places on official police and municipal open-data portals. Hundreds of mapped places; dedicated city pages for major centres. No account is required.

Visit the national crime map overview or the interactive crime map.