Extra policing during the fall in Queen’s University District cost Kingston nearly $1 million

The final tab to police student street parties this past fall was revealed at Thursday afternoon’s Kingston Police Services Board meeting.

Kingston police have been dealing with large unsanctioned gatherings that have defied COVID-19 regulations since students returned to campus this fall. The cost to do so is nearly $1 million.

“The total was $993,493.65,” said Kingston police Chief Antje McNeely.

McNeely explains that figure can be broken down further to show specific costs.

For example, two back-to-back weekends at the end of October that kicked off with homecoming, and attracted thousands of revellers, cost the force over $400,000.

That included the cost of bringing in extra police from regions like Toronto and Durham to help disperse crowds.

On top of that, Kingston police are on the hook for putting up the extra officers.

“In terms of meals and accommodations and supplies for those weekends was $145,647,” said McNeely.

The rest of the over $900,000 is attributed to the University District Safety Initiative, which saw officers patrolling the student district every Thursday to Saturday in September and October.

Queen’s University has pledged to contribute $310,000 to the city to help cover policing costs.

That money represents about a third of the cost relayed to the police services board.

Kingston police are also working with the city to allocate some of the revenue brought in through fines and monetary penalties that were handed out in the student district.