Over 200 charges issued during St. Patrick’s Day festivities: WRPS

WATERLOO – With St. Patrick’s Day now in the rear-view mirror, officers with Waterloo Regional Police Service (WRPS) have released details on the over 200 charges that were issued throughout the busy 5-day stretch.

According to WRPS, a total of 218 charges were laid across its various deployment operations from March 13 to March 18 to “help ensure the safety of residents, the public, and event attendees during large unsanctioned gatherings.”

At those various festivities and gatherings, officers say the estimated crowd size reached around 7,500 at its peak.

Of those 218 total charges, the large majority consisted of Highway Traffic Act offences, consisting of 59 per cent of those total charges.

The next largest were Liquor Licence and Control Act offences at 58, 27 per cent of those total charges.

“The Waterloo Regional Police Service would like to thank all community partners who worked together to ensure public safety during this unlawful event,” said WRPS in a release.

Among the list of groups and entities that WRPS thanked for that support throughout the St. Patrick’s Day festivities were the student unions with the University of Waterloo, Laurier University, and other student associations amongst local educational institutions.

It comes after officers with WRPS reached out and spoke directly to those students and groups ahead of the busy, usually rowdy, stretch, working to discuss the potential consequences of those unsanctioned gatherings.