Gatineau police department releases 2024 annual report

Sophie Demers

Gatineau police director Simon Fournier presented the organization’s 2024 annual report to the Commission de la sécurité publique on May 28. The report detailed statistics and information collected over the year summarizing the police service’s activities.

“While Gatineau is experiencing growth, some crime indicators are also showing upward trends. However, thanks to the rigour and commitment of our teams, as well as our preventive actions, our interventions in the community and our sustained fight against crime and gun violence, we have continued to ensure the safety of Gatineau residents. Supported by our 2024-2028 strategic plan, we will continue our efforts and our work to build a humane, proactive and trustworthy police service that knows how to adapt to the realities of our community,” said Fournier when presenting the report. 

Personnel

There are a total of 484 police officers and 300 additional employees, including administrators, blue-collar and white-collar professionals. According to the annual report, of the 484 police officers, 25% are women and 5% are visible minorities, people of colour, or Indigenous. Throughout 2024, 44 officers were hired and 17 officers left, including three who retired.

Crime

The emergency centre handled 322,008 requests in 2024, 18% considered to be of criminal nature and handled by the police department. There was a decrease of 7,000 calls compared to 2023. There were 1,318 cases of intimate partner violence in 2024, a slight increase from the previous year’s 1,215 cases.

Of the calls that required police action, 3,448 involved people with mental health vulnerabilities. Of these calls, the Gatineau police specialized team conducted 724 interventions. In 2024, there were 5,283 calls related to people experiencing homelessness, over 1,200 more compared to 2023.

Criminal offences increased on Gatineau territory by 4% for a total of 12,007 offences. Crimes against a person increased by 6% compared to 2023. For example, obtaining sexual services and pimping increased by 14 cases, kidnapping and trafficking increased by 29 cases. Additionally, domestic violence cases rose by 8%.

Property crime remained relatively stable with a less than 2% increase. The report details the first decrease in vehicle theft since 2021. In 2024 there were 269 car theft cases compared to 318 cases in 2023. 

There was a total of 1,311 fraud cases in 2024, a decrease of 14 cases compared to the previous year. However, identity theft rose to 29 cases which marks an 81% increase from 2023. This follows province-wide crime trends.

Police seized 282 firearms in 2024, of which 66 were related to criminal offences.

Road safety

There was a total of 3,053 road collisions reported in 2024. Three were fatal accidents and 432 were vehicle collisions that caused injuries. Impaired driving offences remain on the rise with 195 cases of alcohol-impaired driving and 27 drug-impaired driving incidences. There were 19 more cases of impaired driving compared to 2023.

Gatineau police held four prevention activities with elementary school students about speeding in school zones. Additionally, police carried out 277 operations in school zones and other 30 km/h zones throughout 2024.

Other activities

Gatineau police did prevention workshops for 537 classes across the city. They also did various cybersecurity and fraud prevention workshops in the community, including 21 for seniors and 21 presentations for newcomers.