Key stats and takeaways from Ottawa police’s 2024 annual report
Posted Jun 20, 2025 01:29:11 PM.
Last Updated Jun 20, 2025 02:03:31 PM.
Last year was marked by Ottawa police with both the start of some successful programs and multiple tragedies.
The force’s annual report goes into detail about the year-over-year statistics of crimes as well as the way officers are aiming to disrupt bad actors in the nation’s capital.
Throughout the year, police were called thousands of times for collisions, intimate partner violence issues and murders. Several of the incidents they responded to marked the year in unfortunate ways. It was one of the more deadly years for the city, but at the same time, progress is being made in other areas.
Officials shared details of how programs implemented are seeing results and how they are firmly placed in history books by using a term that no other policing agency in Canada had before them.
There are several keys takeaways from the report released June 18, but one specific incident comes to mind when police look back on the last year.
Homicides
The mass murder in Barrhaven on March 6, 2024, not only shocked the city, but the country.
It is the single deadliest event in Ottawa’s history and saw six people killed, four of whom were children.
The children’s father, Dhanushka Wickramasinghe, survived the incident but his wife, Darshani Banbaranayake Hama Walwwe Darshani Dilanthika Ekanyake, 35 and their four children; Inuka Wickramasinghe, 7, Ashwini Wickramasinghe, 4, Rinyana Wickramasinghe, 2, Kelly Wickramasinghe, 2 months old, and a family friend Amarakoonmubiayansela Ge Gamini Amarakoon, 40, were murdered.
They were newcomers to the city from Sri Lanka, with the youngest child being born in the country.
Ottawa police arrested and charged Febrio De-Zoysa, 19, who was an acquaintance of the family with six counts of first degree murder and one count of attempted murder.
The victims of this incident are some of the 26 people killed in Ottawa last year. The annual police report said there was a total of 21 homicides last year, of which charges were laid in 16.
These statistics are a large increase from the 13 homicides in 2023, resulting in an average of 17 in the last five years.
Femicides and intimate partner violence
Last year marked the first-ever time Ottawa police used the term ‘femicide’ to describe an incident. The force also became the first in Canada to officially use the term, which aids in recognizing the “epidemic of violence against women in our community and our society.”
Three femicides happened in 2024, leaving families devastated and their communities on edge. The first was Jennifer Zabarylo, 47, who was found in her home in the city’s west end. Police charged Michael Zarbarylo, 55, with first-degree murder.
The second was a blatant daytime attack on a mother who was at the park with her four children. Brkti Berche, 36, was stabbed to death at a park on Uplands Drive in October. Officials charged Fsha Tekhle, 36, of Montreal with first-degree murder. He had a domestic relationship with a family member of the victim.
On Christmas Day, police were called to a home where they found the body of Jolene Arreak, 46.
Manasi Foo, 35, was charged with second-degree murder and attempted murder of a second victim who was treated in hospital.
Ottawa police’s annual report notes that intimate partner violence is an epidemic and an ongoing issue, and it disproportionately impacts women and girls. The force receives an average of 18 calls a day for these incidents.
Collisions and vehicle theft
With thousands of kilometres of roads and vehicles pilling onto them every day, Ottawa police continue to respond to many crashes and collisions in the nation’s capital.
Last year collisions were up 1 per cent, but police say traffic-related fatalities dropped to 18 from 27 the year prior.
“These figures reflect the realities of a growing, dynamic city,” the report reads, while giving a nod to citizen organizations, councillors and provincial police, as key reasons for how that number has come down.
One initiative police are spearheading is the Residents Matters enforcements, which take place in communities across the city to crack down on dangerous driving. Over the past year, police have focused on enforcement of street racing and recorded 370 incidents of stunt driving, an 11 per cent decrease from 2023.
Impaired driving reports were also down in 2024.
Officials are also focusing on vehicle thefts across the city, an issue plaguing most Ontario communities.
Last year, there were 1,638 vehicles reported stolen to Ottawa police, a 20 per cent decrease from 2023. The report credits this to a combination of efforts, including government funding, increased awareness and additional police enforcement.
However, not all stolen vehicles are recovered. Police say about 60 per cent of vehicles taken were returned to the owner, an increase from 51 per cent. Both residential parking lots and driveways were the areas from which vehicles were taken the most.
Targeted vehicles last year continue to be newer model SUVs and pickup trucks that have fobs or push-button starts.
“Although any vehicle using this type of technology can be susceptible to theft, the following models were more frequently stolen: Toyota / Lexus (Rav4, Highlander, RX350, Tundra, Tacoma), Jeep Wrangler, Honda CRV, Land Rover SUV’s, Ram 1500 trucks, Ford F-series trucks,” the report states.
Gun violence
The report notes that shootings in Ottawa have “declined significantly,” down from 73 to 53 incidents year-over-year, or about 27 per cent. Officers seized 104 crime guns in 2024 in relation to investigations.
Despite a drop in shootings, gun violence-related charges are increasing year-over-year.
Police say that last year they laid 694 offences in gun violence cases, up from 606 the year previous.
Officials are prioritizing the trafficking, illegal use, storage and transportation of firearms within the region. They also note that a large investigation with multiple policing agencies, Project Champion, aided in the seizure of several weapons.
The report also details how technology, specifically 3-D printing, has impacted the criminal realm and posed challenges for police.
Replica firearms, they say, are “commonly” being used in youth-related criminal activity, something it hopes further educational campaigns will remedy.
