Ottawa Police issue safety warning about ‘high-risk offender’ in area

The Ottawa Police Service would like to inform the public that Christopher Watts, male and 62 years old, who has been deemed a high-risk offender since 2015, is now living in the Rideau-Vanier area.

The Ottawa Police Service believes that Watts poses a risk to the community, particularly women, including those under 18 years of age.

Watts must abide by a Long-Term Supervision Order (LTSO) with several conditions, including:

• Not to be within 50 metres of places where children under the age of 18 are likely to congregate such as elementary and secondary schools, parks, swimming pools and recreational centres unless accompanied by an adult previously approved in writing by his parole supervisor
• Not to be in the presence of any female children under the age of 18 unless supervised by a responsible adult who knows his criminal history and has been previously approved in writing, by his parole supervisor
• Not to consume, purchase or possess drugs other than prescribed medication taken as prescribed and over the counter drugs taken as recommended by the manufacturer
• Not to consume, possess or purchase alcohol

The Ottawa Police Service High-Risk Offender Management Unit deemed Watts poses a high risk to reoffend or breach his terms. Watts will be monitored by the Correctional Services of Canada and the Ottawa Police Service High-Risk Offender Management Unit.

Anyone who is aware of potential breaches to Watts’s conditions should not approach him, but rather, contact the Ottawa Police Service High-Risk Offender Management Unit at 613-236-1222 ext. 4395 or 9-1-1 in case of an emergency.

Anonymous tips can be submitted by calling Crime Stoppers toll-free at 1-800-222-8477 or at crimestoppers.ca.

After careful deliberation, and with due consideration to the privacy concerns engaged, the Ottawa Police Service is issuing this notice in the interests of public safety.

This public safety warning is being released under the authority of Regulation 265/98 made under the Police Services Act, which allows for the release of personal information about an individual if it is reasonably believed that the individual poses a significant risk of harm to other persons or property and it is reasonably believed that such disclosure would reduce that risk.

Submitted by the Ottawa Police Service November 2022.

Editor’s note

According to a 2013 document published by Correctional Service Canada, “A Long-Term Supervision Order (LTSO) is a non-custodial sentencing option available to the courts to extend the length of time that the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) will supervise and support an offender in the community.

An LTSO begins after an offender has completed their sentence (Warrant Expiry Date) and cannot exceed 10 years.

The designation is intended for managing offenders who pose a significant risk to re-offend if not effectively supervised in the community.

The long-term offender designation was established in 1997 when the Criminal Code of Canada and the Corrections and Conditional Release Act were amended in reference to dangerous offender designations and long-term offender designations.”