Guelph police respond to 586 calls during Homecoming 2018

For another year running, Guelph police and bylaw officers were kept busy on Saturday during Homecoming celebrations.

In a news release on Monday night, police said their officers responded to almost 600 calls over a 24-hour period beginning at 6 a.m.

During this time frame, police issued 178 open liquor tickets and 16 public urination tickets.

Over 50 extra officers were called in and dedicated to homecoming-related issues, including a massive street party on Chancellors Way for the second year in a row.

In a series of tweets on Saturday, police said there were calls for fights and people needing medical attention stemming from the party.

Police estimated up to 5,000 people were at the party before it was broken up at around 8 p.m.

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“The emphasis was on strict but fair enforcement in our south-end neighbourhoods where we have a high concentration of student housing,” police said in a news release.

Between bylaw and police officers, 121 noise complaints were investigated and 46 charges were laid.

Bylaw officers issued 345 parking tickets on Saturday.

Police also arrested three impaired drivers and nine others for public intoxication.

There was also a stabbing in the downtown core just after midnight on Sunday. A 21-year-old man from Toronto is now facing charges.

In total, police responded to 586 calls in a 24-hour period on Saturday. Throughout the entire weekend, police dealt with 1,051 calls. By comparison, police only responded to 672 calls the previous weekend.

In a video posted online, Mayor Cam Guthrie said he saw improvements from the previous year, but it appears more fines and charges were laid compared to Homecoming 2017.

“Things were a lot better and that’s because we were very proactive in making sure we tried to get a handle on everything,” he said.

Guthrie added the city will probably end up paying a bill between $80,000 to $100,000 for homecoming and he questioned who should really be paying up.

He said it shouldn’t be the taxpayers.

He said meetings will be held over the coming weeks and months to determine the exact cost and the next steps.