Police, Bylaw issue over $88K in fines over Homecoming weekend

Today, Monday, Oct. 23, 2023, the City of Kingston Bylaw Enforcement and Kingston Police released details on tickets and fines issued during Homecoming celebrations.

“Over the weekend, City Bylaw continued to work with Kingston Police to respond to large unsanctioned gatherings in the University District. Although we saw more cooperation with enforcement, officers still dealt with a substantial number of residential parties, along with a complete street takeover that posed safety risks to the community,” said Kyle Compeau, Manager of Enforcement Services at the City of Kingston.

According to a joint release from the City of Kingston and Kingston Police, a Nuisance Party was declared on Aberdeen Street from Johnson to Earl just after 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023. Traffic to the area was immediately restricted and attendees were ordered to disperse or be liable to penalties. Police and Bylaw Enforcement successfully cleared the gathering and the Nuisance Party declaration was lifted at 4 p.m.

The following details were shared in the media release:

Bylaw Enforcement reports the following fines and charges:   

• Two counts of Hosting a Nuisance Party Administrative Monetary Penalties (AMPs) — $2,000
• 90 counts of Failure to Comply with an Order to Leave Premises AMPs — $500
• 16 counts of Amplified Sound AMPs — $200
• 27 counts of Failure to Comply with Signs AMPs — $200

Kingston Police reports the following fines and charges:  

• 147 Part 1 Summons issued: 134 for Open Liquor, nine for Underage Drinking, three for Public Intoxication, and one for Disobey Don’t Walk Signal
• 61 counts of Failure to Comply with an Order to Leave Premises AMPs — $500
• 2 X Criminal Code arrests for Obstructing a Peace Officer 

Administrative Monetary Penalties were also issued for failure to comply with signs and park closures at Breakwater Park and Gord Downie Pier.

“We’re disappointed to have had to issue tickets to individuals trespassing at Gord Downie Pier,” said Curtis Smith, the City’s Director of Licensing and Enforcement. “There was blatant disregard for signs prohibiting use of the park. Alcohol plus open water is an incredibly dangerous combination and we put these measures in place to keep people safe.”

As a result, Breakwater Park and Gord Edgar Downie Pier will continue to be closed to the public nightly (8 p.m. to 6:30 a.m.) from the evening of Thursday, Oct. 26 until the morning of Sunday, Oct. 29. Under Section 3 of City of Kingston By-Law Number 2009-76, it is an offence to enter or use a park where the entry or use is prohibited by notice. According to the release, there will be active video surveillance of the area at this time.

The City of Kingston and Kingston Police would like to thank all partners involved in this weekend’s operations, including Queen’s University, Frontenac Paramedics, Kingston Health Sciences Centre and Kingston Fire & Rescue, who once again worked together in the preceding weeks and over the weekend to ensure safety for the entire community. City staff and Police will continue collaborating with Queen’s University administration and student representatives throughout the year, in anticipation of future events

“The initiation of our Police Liaison Teams which were deployed weeks in advance of the Homecoming event, and provided education related to desired behaviours and subsequent consequences for not following the rules, coupled with a strong enforcement initiative, led to an overall positive weekend in the University District,” said Acting Chief of Police Scott Fraser. “We are happy to report that there were no major issues or injuries during the event and attendees were respectful and for the most part understood the role of the police.”

“Our command team ensured we had the right number of resources available to respond to anything that we encountered,” Fraser continued. “We had a number of other events taking place in our community simultaneously which were dealt with effectively and efficiently. We salute the civilian and sworn members of the Kingston Police along with our policing and community partners!”

The University District Safety Initiative remains in effect until Nov. 1 at 12 a.m. Police and Bylaw encourage residents to learn more about the municipal measures in place to discourage unsanctioned large gatherings and high-risk or disruptive behaviours by visiting the UDSI webpage on the City of Kingston website.

Kingston Fire and Rescue were called to several fire alarm calls at Queen’s University’s residence buildings over Homecoming 2023 weekend. Kingstonist has inquired with the local fire department about the number of false alarms they attended at university residence buildings over the weekend, the updated costs to deploy a crew to a fire alarm call, and the number of fines, if any, laid as a result of fire alarms being activated unnecessarily. Further coverage will be provided if/when that information becomes available.