According to Kingston Police, break and enters climbed fifty per cent since the same quarter in 2017 in the city. The numbers come from Kingston Police’s quarterly statistical report. Most notably, the highest numbers seem to be coming out of the city’s University District, where more than 26,000 students live in student housing.
On the Crime Mapping tool used by Kingston Police, in the past six months, the residential student area that surrounds Queen’s sits at 87 property crimes. That’s compared to numbers of 82 in the downtown region near Montreal Street and Princess Street, and just 47 north of that area. Detective Sergeant Jay Finn with Kingston Police says the number speaks to the vulnerability of the area.
“Queen’s University is a very open university, there’s no boundaries for the most part,” Sgt. Finn says.
He says it’s common knowledge to thieves that it’s student housing. “The bad guys know when classes start, they know what Christmas holidays are and when reading week is.”
Sgt. Finn adds one of the biggest issues they face is that a lot of the time, victims are leaving doors unlocked in turn, leaving themselves open to trouble.
“Students have high-tech electronics that are very sought after by our criminals.”
Police say there are several tips you can follow to help prevent yourself from being a victim. These include locking your door, keeping expensive items out of sight and always try to be mindful of who is coming to your house when throwing a party.