Kingston Police thank partners, students for St. Paddy's Day co-operation
March 25, 2025
St. Patrick’s Day 2025 in the University District was a big party, but not a bad one, according to the people who maintained peace and order there over the St. Paddy’s Day weekend.
Kingston Police Chief Scott Fraser presented his report on the operations to the Kingston Police Services Board at its meeting on Thursday, Mar. 20, 2025. Then on Friday, Mar. 21, 2025, the Kingston Police Force (KPF) released a statement along similar lines.
“The Kingston Police would like to thank partner agencies, the City of Kingston, Kingston Fire and Rescue, Frontenac Paramedics, Smiths Falls Police Service, Brockville Police Service, Gananoque Police Service, Belleville Police Service and the Ontario Provincial Police for their assistance during and leading up to the St. Patrick’s Day weekend festivities,” the news release reads. “The Kingston Police also wish to thank the students for their cooperative behaviour. Despite large crowds, there were no major issues.”
“Our strategy of communication and utilization of our Police Liaison Teams is proving to be a success. We can reduce our footprint at these events and yet ensure the safety of all participants,” Fraser noted in both the meeting and the release.
Fraser told the board that the biggest street party occurred on Saturday, March 15, and that students had conducted an online poll “to elect what day they'd like to do Saint Patrick's Day.”
KPF, he said, had originally planned for the big event to be on March 17 but was able to quickly pivot its plan and make its presence known, mainly through internal KPF patrols, liaison officers, and community volunteers.
“On that day [March 15] we saw a large crowd --- probably, as many officers told me, the largest crop they've seen in years and years,” Fraser noted. “It was a beautiful day. People came out, they were celebratory, they were following our rules of no alcohol, no beer cans, no bottles, and things like that. And literally under 100 tickets were issued, I think, overall.”
Fraser acknowledged that on March 15 there were “a couple of incidents” that were likely seen by many people, including possibly members of the board: “If you saw videos, a kid climbed a tree and was dealt with immediately after getting down from the tree safely,” he said. Also there were some instances where people were on roofs and were encouraged to get off. “But really, all in all, a successful day.”
“The students... there were lots of them. But... everybody was friendly, and we didn't see any major issues. So that was great," the chief enthused. And in terms of March 17 itself, "Everything was pretty well done on the Saturday, so there were some organized events on Monday evening: bar crawls and things like that. We upped staff with a minimum number of officers, and they had no issues.” In fact, Fraser said, the majority of the extra officers were sent home early.
“So we should see substantial savings for this event,” he declared. “In speaking with our team... they were confident that we're in a good spot where we can maybe start cutting ties from the way we used to do things.”
Asked for clarification on this point, Deputy Chief Scott Gee said, “Looking back 10, 15 years ago, St. Paddy’s Day was handled with [Kingston Police] internal staff,” which was the way they decided to do things this year: “by having most of our internal staff come in and not bringing in things like public order or mounted units, a lot of crowd control, or other crowd management techniques.”
Gee continued, “And so we went back to some of our older techniques of up-staffing with our frontline patrol people… But the real change was the... police liaison teams. They're doing a two-pronged approach: informing the students of what's not permitted and following that through on the day of the event with enforcing, if [the students] were to breach what they were told not to do.”
Gee also praised the force's relationship with the university, calling it “very strong” and saying, “Campus Security is a great partner.”
Chief Fraser also noted, “Our partnership with fellow law enforcement, the City of Kingston and Queen’s University is appreciated.”
The following fines were issued on Saturday, Mar. 15, 2025:
Kingston Police
- Having liquor in open container: 3 x $125 = $375
- Public intoxication: 2 x $65 = $130
- Consuming liquor in unauthorized place: 1 x $125 = $125
- Failing to leave premises when directed: $65
- Novice driver - blood alcohol count (B.A.C.) above zero: $110
- Disobeying stop sign (failing to stop): $110
- Failing to surrender permit for motor vehicle: $110
- Interfering with traffic: 2 x $65 = $130
- Failing to have insurance card: $65
- Driving a motor vehicle with no plates: $85
- Driving a motor vehicle with no licence: $325TOTAL: $1,630
City of Kingston Bylaw
- Amplified Sound: 18 x $200 = $3,600
- Failing to leave premises: 33 x $500 = $16,500
- Hosting a nuisance party: 7 x $2,000 = $14,000
- Total Administrative Monetary Penalties (AMPs): 58 AMPsTOTAL: $34,130
According to Kingston Police, who celebrated a surplus in their 2024 budget at the same Police Services Board meeting, St. Patrick's Day weekend policing cost $117,000 last year.
The Kingston Police Services Board meets regularly on the third Thursday of each month, beginning at 12 noon (unless stated otherwise in the agenda) in the William Hackett Boardroom at Kingston Police Headquarters, 705 Division Street.