An inspector with the Ottawa Police Service says an increased police presence in the area is not possible.

Residents in Barrhaven have seen an up-tick in both home invasions and car thefts in recent weeks, and are asking for the Ottawa Police Service to step up and address the issue.

A community meeting, hosted by City Councillor for Barrhaven Jan Harder and attended by OPS Deputy Chief of Front Line Operations Steve Bell, as well as Inspector Ken Bryden, will provide statistics of crime activity and what strategies officers are looking at to keep numbers down.

Residents would like to see an increased police presence, but Insp. Bryden says that's not possible.

"If the Ottawa Police Service was in a position to provide as much recourses as we could, we would, but quite frankly we're just not in the position to do that," he explained.

The police plan to use specialized investigations to attempt to reduce crime in the area, Bryden said.

"The use of surveillance techniques or the drafting and execution of search warrants based on the work done by our specialized investigation."

Bryden explained the reason Barrhaven is being targeted is because it's a dense upper-middle class area that is attractive to criminals.

The community meeting will be held at Cedar Hill Golf and Country Club starting from 7 p.m. until 9 p.m.