St Patrick’s Day weekend in University District quieter than previous years

Possibly due to concerns about COVID-19 and Principal Patrick Deane’s plea to students to refrain from large gatherings, St Patrick’s Day weekend in 2020 was much quieter in the Queen’s University District than in previous years.

This is the second year in a row showing declines in alcohol- and party-related offences in the district. In 2018, a total of 118 Provincial Offence Notices were laid to address Liquor Licence Act violations and other offences, according to Kingston Police. 79 such offences were laid by Kingston Police and By-Law enforcement officers in 2019.

This year, over the weekend of March 13-14, Kingston Police took the following enforcement actions in relation to the St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in the University District, according to Kingston Police Sergeant Steve Koopman: 22 Liquor Licence violations, including 20 open alcohol, and 1 being under the age of 19. One arrest was made for public intoxication. That was out of a total 445 calls that Kingston Police responded to over the weekend.

Additionally, City of Kingston Bylaw Enforcement officers enforced 10 bylaw infractions regarding the amplification of sound, according to Koopman.

While police were cautiously optimistic about the outcome, they acknowledged that they might not be out of the woods yet, given that the official St Patrick’s Day falls on a Tuesday this year. 

“We’ll see what tomorrow brings to potentially add to these numbers. We’re hoping with the celebrations over the weekend, the closure of classes at Queen’s, and COVID-19 concerns that it may not be as busy as first anticipated,” said Koopman.