What is the crime rate in Ottawa, IL?

In 2025, the Ottawa Police Department reported 46 violent crimes and 232 property crimes to the FBI.

That is 245 violent and 1,236 property crimes per 100,000 of the 18,764 residents it serves.

Across Illinois the rates were 258 and 1,556.

Nationally they were 330 and 1,552.

Figures last updated on November 12, 2026.

Violent per 100,000: 245
Property per 100,000: 1,236
Violent crimes: 46
Property crimes: 232

Crime reported by the Ottawa Police Department, 2023 to 2025

Offenses known to law enforcement, reported to the FBI; rates per 100,000 residents of the area the department serves
Year	Violent crimes	Violent per 100,000	Property crimes	Property per 100,000	Residents served
2023	52	280	278	1,496	18,579
2024	35	187	281	1,501	18,722
2025	46	245	232	1,236	18,764

Violent crimes reported went from 52 in 2023 to 46 in 2025.

Property crimes reported went from 278 in 2023 to 232 in 2025.

In a small town a handful of incidents moves these numbers a long way, so one year’s change says little on its own.

Ottawa against Illinois and the nation

Crimes per 100,000 residents, 2025
	Violent crime	Property crime
Ottawa	245	1,236
Illinois	258	1,556
United States	330	1,552

These are rates per resident; they are not adjusted for visitors, commuters or the size of the area, which raise or lower a town’s figures without changing anybody’s risk.

Crime reported in places near Ottawa, 2025

Each place’s own police department; rates per 100,000 residents served
Place	Distance	Violent per 100,000	Property per 100,000
Ottawa	—	245	1,236
Marseilles	8.9 mi	126	378
North Utica	10 mi	0	816
Seneca	11 mi	217	826

Neighboring departments count the same offenses the same way, but their areas, populations and visitors differ, so a difference between two towns is a starting point for a question, not an answer.

How to read these numbers

These are offenses known to the police and reported to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program: crimes nobody reported, or that a department did not record, are not in them.

Violent crime is murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, rape, robbery and aggravated assault; property crime is burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft and arson.

A department reports the crimes in the area it polices, which can differ from the town’s boundaries, and the FBI estimates the population it serves.

The FBI asks that these figures not be used to rank places or to judge how safe a neighborhood is: crime depends on many local factors, and the counts describe a whole town, not any street or home.

A year is shown only when the department reported all twelve months.

FBI: Uniform Crime Reporting statistics and their proper use

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