London, Ont. police report results of 2021 Project LEARN campaign

The results from the 2021 edition of the London Police Service’s Project LEARN, or Liquor Enforcement and Reduction of Noise, have been released.

Police say dozens of provincial offence notices and by-law notices were issued in addition to three arrests and one charge related to violating COVID-19-related restrictions.

The campaign ran from Sept. 5 to 25. It involved an increased police presence downtown and in neighbourhoods around Western University and Fanshawe College, with officers focusing on “nuisance parties, open fires, noise, littering and public urination.”

However, officials note that the figures do not include enforcement specific to the “unsanctioned student event on Broughdale Avenue and surrounding streets” on Sept. 25.

Police say Project LEARN enforcement resulted in one Reopening Ontario Act charge, 34 provincial offence notices, 12 by-law notices and three arrests under the Liquor Licence Act that police say were “in relation to being intoxicated in a public place.”

Project LEARN began in 2007 with a goal of protecting public safety and property and encouraging students to celebrate responsibly, police say.