York Regional Police are issuing a warning about the dangers of climbing on cranes after officers have received several calls for people trespassing onto construction sites over the past few weeks.
Police said they attended four incidents involving numerous people, primarily youths, between May 22 and Sunday. As a result, several trespassing and mischief charges were laid.
The first of the incidents took place on May 22. Police said they called out to a construction site near Yonge Street and 19th Avenue in Richmond Hill where they found six youths climbing down the ladder of a 12-storey crane. Meanwhile, at around the same time, police were dispatched to a site near Leslie Street and 16th Avenue in which a different group of six scaled another crane. The parents of the youths were called to both sites and trespassing charges were laid.
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On May 27, a 22-year-old man was charged with mischief after he was caught in the early morning hours on a 10-storey construction crane near Main Street and Lloyd Street in the Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville. Another man was also spotted on that same crane as officers were arriving, but he climbed down and ran away.
The latest incident took place on Sunday around 9 p.m. near Yonge and Eagle streets in Newmarket where two 16-year-old boys were spotted at the top of a 13-storey construction crane. Both were able to climb down. They were arrested by officers and charged with trespassing and mischief-related charges.
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York Regional Police Const. Andy Pattenden said individuals engaging in the activity should consider the consequences, aside from the possibility of facing criminal charges.
“There’s obvious danger here climbing cranes that are 10 or 12 storeys tall,” he said.
“Gravity is not going to be your friend if you slip and fall.”