Most Rideau-Vanier residents feel unsafe after dark, according to an Ottawa Police Service 2016 public survey. Only 44 per cent of those surveyed said that they felt safe at night in Rideau-Vanier, compared to the 70 per cent Ottawa average. Anna Hayward, a Vanier resident, says she can relate to that feeling of uneasiness in the area once the sun goes down.

“There is a reason why I tried to schedule only morning and afternoon classes this year,” said Hayward.

Anna Hayward, 22, says she often feels unsafe in Vanier at night, because of the area’s reputation (Provided).

Hayward is a Toronto-native who is living in Ottawa while she finishes her political science studies at the University of Ottawa. While she says that she has not had anything “terrible” happen to her during her time living in the area, Hayward is firm about her apprehension with being out at night in Vanier, especially alone.

The 2012 Ottawa Police Service public survey indicates that not much has changed in the feeling of safety in Vanier after dark. That year, only 40 per cent of those surveyed said that they felt safe walking alone at night in the area.

“You just can sometimes feel vulnerable in the area, knowing the kinds of things that you hear about happening in Vanier and at the same time not knowing what could happen,” said Hayward.

There is some shouting that can be heard from outside of Hayward’s Vanier apartment complex, but it is the afternoon and it is just the neighbourhood kids walking home from school.

Rideau-Vanier saw an 11 per cent increase in crime rate between 2015 and 2016, according to the Ottawa Police Service. Rideau-Vanier, Ottawa’s 12th ward, had a total of 5,331 reported crimes in 2016. That is an increase of nearly 600 reported crimes from the year before. Despite the increase however, there are those in the community that believe the area is improving its safety.

“I think Vanier has improved and the people that live here really care about it,” said Helena Arruda, the director of counselling and community development at the Vanier Community Service Centre.

The centre has been working with the Vanier community for over 35 years and according to Arruda, safety has remained a primary concern. This includes working closely with Crime Prevention Vanier, a group of community leaders that meet on a regular basis to discuss how to make the area safer. Along with the Vanier Community Service Centre, Crime Prevention Vanier works on beautification of the area’s neighbourhoods and encourages citizens to start their own neighbourhood watches.

“It is something we have to continue to work on so that Vanier is somewhere people want to live,” said Arruda.

In addition to the overall increase in crime rate, there was an increase of more than 100 break and enter cases between 2015 and 2016. Going back to the 2016 public survey, 71 per cent of those surveyed from Vanier were concerned with break and enters in the area, compared to the city average of 55 per cent.

Arruda says that Vanier’s reputation as a “shady” area of Ottawa has been difficult to shake, but that the right systems are in place to make people see Vanier differently.

That includes Rideau-Vanier City Councillor Mathieu Fleury, who was unable to speak for this story because of the tabling of his office’s new budget last week.

Between Fleury’s office, the Ottawa Police Service, and the various Rideau-Vanier community groups, there is a sense of unity that Arruda thinks will yield tangible results.

“To have a safe community and to have a strong community, you have to work together. I think that is what we are doing,” said Arruda.