An Ottawa police initiative that saw extra officers assigned to the force's guns and gangs unit after record-high shootings in the city last year has come to an end.

As of July 1, most of the additional officers that were assigned to help out with the unit were reassigned due to summer staffing issues, said Jill Skinner, the Ottawa Police Service's acting chief.

The officers were given those new duties after the city saw a record-breaking 49 shootings in 2014.

One particular unit that requires more officers in the summer is the Lowertown Foot Patrol, which monitors the busy ByWard Market, said Skinner. Summer vacation schedules also played a role in the redeployment, said Skinner, adding that the force regularly reassesses how its resources are allocated throughout the year.

Officers needed on the front line

"We have to make sure that we have the adequate resources on the front line, able to respond to emergency response calls, so that's our patrol units," said Skinner.

Coun. Riley Brockington, whose ward includes the city's Carlington neighbourhood, says he's so far happy with Ottawa police's response to recent gun violence in the area. (CBC Ottawa) "The patrol officers need to be increased so that we would have the appropriate number of people to respond to calls for service."

While the guns and gangs unit is seeing a decrease in officers, they don't investigate cases in isolation, Skinner added.

"This is not just one section that responds to gang violence," she said. "It's across the organization."

The city's Carlington neighbourhood was recently home to four gun-related incidents, but Coun. Riley Brockington said he's satisfied with the force's response and the redeployment of officers — at least, for now.

"If I feel there are shortfalls that are not being addressed, I will make that very known to the police," said Brockington.

Permanent solution needed: Skof

Matt Skof, head of the Ottawa Police Association, said he'd rather see a "long-term, permanent initiative" instead of a situation where officers are pulled from other units to deal with increased gun violence.

Ottawa Police Association president Matt Skof says he'd like to see a permanent solution instead of having officers temporarily reassigned. (CBC Ottawa) The association has had a problem with the temporary redeployments from the beginning, he added.

"I think the community would appreciate [a permanent solution] too," said Skof. "However, with limited resources, I think the service has to look at where the primary deployment needs to be, and it's going to end up being the road first, the patrol section first."

So far, there have been 20 shootings in Ottawa this year — more than the city had last year as of mid-July.

Twelve of the 20 shootings are believed to be gang-related, with charges laid in seven of those cases.