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Cost of policing unsanctioned Queen’s Homecoming street party: $64,000

Click to play video: 'Policing costs from homecoming unsanctioned street party revealed at Police Service Board meeting'
Policing costs from homecoming unsanctioned street party revealed at Police Service Board meeting
WATCH: Unsactioned Homecoming street party policing costs revealed at police services board meeting. – Nov 21, 2019

Policing the unsanctioned street party during Queen’s University Homecoming this past October cost $64,000.

That’s according to Insp. Helene Corcoran with Kingston police, detailing a range of costs, tickets issued and arrests at this afternoon’s police service board meeting.

The $64,000 price tag is down substantially from last year.

Kingston Police Chief Antje McNeely says some of that comes down to scheduling adjustments for officers, which reduced overtime costs.

They’re all part of the lessons learned from the previous year’s street party, McNeely says.

“We really shifted our numbers of officers working to the Saturday during the day time,” McNeely explained. “[We] didn’t put as many officers on the Friday night but maximized on Saturday.”
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In her report to the board, Corcoran also revealed police issued 128 tickets for for Liquor Licence Act violations — an increase of 40 tickets over last year.

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Twenty-one individuals were arrested, an increase of seven from the previous year.

Click to play video: 'Queen’s homecoming brings mass crowds and shuts down streets'
Queen’s homecoming brings mass crowds and shuts down streets

Corcoran told the board the majority of the arrests were for intoxication in a public place.

Nine bylaw tickets were also issued, eight of them from the municipality’s new nuisance bylaw.

The nuisance bylaw also meant everyone ticketed had to make a court appearance.

Those court appearances occurred this week at the Provincial Offences Court on Montreal Street over two days.

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Some of those court appearances included individuals ticketed earlier in the year at other events like frosh week and move-in day.

According to Corcoran, 138 people pleaded guility, and a further 34 people have been scheduled for trial in absentia.

Click to play video: 'Teen arrested in connection to assault of Kingston officer'
Teen arrested in connection to assault of Kingston officer

Corcoran, responding to questions from board member Dr. Christian Leuprecht, also revealed a little more information about the two days of court proceedings.

“The Crown Attorney was pushing very hard for increased fees and increased fines, I guess, and we didn’t really see those,” Corcoran explained.

McNeely says about 150 police officers were assigned to dealing with this year’s street party

 

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