Although gun crime is high in the entertainment district, neighbourhood crime and crime incidents related to gang activity is down, reported Staff Superintendent Francis Bergen of the Toronto Police Service at a 14 Division Community Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) meeting on Sept. 14.

Bergen said that gun crime has been “off the charts in the past three months with 19 shooting incidents resulting in five homicides”, but cautioned that the shootings, while alarming, were for the most part localized to the entertainment district of clubs and bars that has migrated west of Spadina Avenue.

Most of the incidents occur, explained Detective Sergeant Brian Kelly, when the 720 licensed establishments in the division shut down and patrons are lingering outside in summer conditions.

In its first meeting since June, the CPLC viewed reports spanning the three months period from June to September that showed residential break-and-enters down 55 per cent and commercial break-and-enters down 25 per cent, each over the same period one year ago. Robberies, such as cell phone theft, purse snatchings, and hold-ups, are at the same rate as last year, and represent a total number of 45 reports over the three-month period. Theft-of-autos is up 10 per cent from last year, but includes a spike in motorcycle thefts from parking garages in the south end of the division.

The division polices the area from the lakeshore to the south to the CPR tracks near Dupont Street to the north, and from Spadina Avenue in the east to Dufferin Street to the west.

—Brian Burchell